When Something's Broken, Fix It
by Soniclover0028
Summary: "Three months... It'd been three months since his best friend-his brother- had disappeared." When Sonic mysteriously goes missing, Tails and the others are found heartbroken until Knuckles bursts in and claims to know where he is. After being beaten and drugged everyday it seems that Sonic is mentally broken. The question is, who will fix him?
1. Prologue

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Prologue**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

Tails sat in the living room on the couch, staring at the T.V. that had a news reporter talking glumly on it. Tails' eyes were red from lack of sleep, and his white muzzle was damp from the tears that had recently rolled down his face. Three months… It'd been three months since his best friend, his brother, had gone missing, and Dr. Eggman had been a pain in a butt lately. He always waited on the patio every day, hoping that a speedy blue hedgehog would come speeding by. "He'll turn up soon, I'm sure of it!" Chris would encourage.

Although almost the entire world knew, and loved, Sonic and his friends, some still couldn't accept them, and wanted them gone. Tails was afraid… He was afraid that those humans had finally caught him, and he was afraid of what they might be doing to him.

He clicked the button on his T.V. remote to turn it off, and was about to go to the garage when something, or someone, suddenly burst through the door. "Tails!" the figure shouted. The two-tailed fox looked at the figure and scolded, "You scared the fur off of me, Knuckles!" "Sorry, but I have something important that you might want to hear!" the echidna exclaimed.

"I don't wanna hear it…" Tails sighed, as he turned to go to the garage. "Tails, I know where Sonic is…" Tails' eyes widened and he grabbed Knuckles by the shoulders and yelled, "_Where?!Where is he!?_" "I'll show you, but I have to warn you, he-" "I don't care! Take me to him!" Tails interrupted, as tears stung his eyes. Knuckles sighed and said, "Fine… But first, you have to put this on." He then handed Tails a black hood, as he put one on himself. "Why do we have to wear these?" Tails asked. Knuckles was about to answer, when Chris, Cream, Cheese, Chuck, Ella and Amy ran downstairs. "I thought I heard yelling down here, is everything alright?" Chuck asked.

"Knuckles said that he knows where Sonic is!" Tails exclaimed excitedly. "Really?! Where is he?!" Chris asked. Knuckles sighed as he looked at the floor and told them, "Only three of you can come, I only have four hoods…" "Why do we have to wear hoods?" Chuck questioned. "The humans can't know that our kind is there, or we'll end up being-" Knuckles stopped as he glanced at Cream and Cheese. Understanding why Knuckles wouldn't talk, Ella suddenly said, "Cream, Cheese, why don't you help me bake a cake for when Sonic comes back home? I'm sure his tummy will be very hungry!" "Yeah! Let's go, Cheese!" Cream smiled, as she ran off towards the kitchen.

Once they were out of earshot, Chuck asked, "So, why can't they know you're there?" "It's too hard to explain, but I'll tell you now, it's not very pretty…" The echidna sighed. "Can we just please go already?!" Tails asked impatiently. "Wait, one of us has to stay, who'll it be?" Chuck asked. "I will… I think you and Amy would be more helpful…" Chris sighed. "Thanks, Chris…" Amy smiled. "Okay, that's decided, so let's go!" Tails exclaimed, as he slipped his hood on and headed towards the door. "Wait, Tails. If we just go into this place, and if we DO find him, how're we gonna get him out?" Chuck questioned him. Tails froze, and looked down in dismay, "You're right… We need a plan…"

"Okay then, let's go to my lab and find a way to get Sonic!" Chuck exclaimed, as he marched to his garage.

"Sonic is _where?_" Tails shouted in shock. "You heard me… He's at James's House of Madness…" Knuckles told them. "What's that?" Amy asked. "It's a place where illegal animal fights are held… They're using Sonic in those fights, and the bad part is he doesn't even know what he's doing…" Knuckles explained. "What do you mean?" Chuck asked. "They're doing something to the animals they use there… I don't know what it is, but I noticed that all of them seem a little… 'out of it'…" The echidna said. "Where did you find this place, Knuckles?" Chuck suddenly asked. "In the middle of a desert halfway across the country…" He answered. "No wonder the police can't do anything about this…" The old man muttered.

"It's hidden in a canyon, I barely spotted the entrance to it, and I thought it looked pretty suspicious. So, naturally, I went inside, but I got chased as soon as I was spotted… I ran back out of the place and hid underground until they were gone. Then I found these hoods, and I put one on. I stood in the crowd and watched multiple animals fight against their will… It was awful… But when Sonic came out… He just-… I dunno how to explain it…" Knuckles told them. "I think we'll have to go take a look around this place before we try getting him out of it. If we know where they're keeping him when he's not in one of those fights, then we could bust him outta there," Tails suggested.

"Good idea, Tails. But first, let's bring some things we've made for backup," Chuck then walked over to the wall in the back of the workshop, and pulled a lever. The wall lifted up to reveal multiple shelves lined with all kinds of gadgets. "Wow…" Amy gaped. "Everyone gets a communicator watch, a pair of infrared glasses, and a small weapon of your choice," Chuck told them, as he passed out the communicators and glasses. Tails walked up to the wall and picked out a dart gun, Amy picked up a tube of laser lipstick, and Chuck chose a ray gun. "What about you, Knuckles?" Amy asked. "I'm using my own weapons…" He smirked, as he pulled out his shovel claws. Tails and Chuck rolled their eyes, while Amy cocked an eyebrow at him.

"We can take the X-Tornado, I just have to put some more fuel in it and we can go," Tails said. "Right, let's hurry. We need to get Sonic outta there before anything happens," Knuckles told them.

Once Tails got the X-Tornado up and running, they set off towards the desert. A few quiet hours passed by, until Amy mustered up the courage to ask, "Hey, Knuckles, How many different animals are there?" "Well… I think just about every kind you can think of…" He replied.

"Rabbits?" She pressed

"Yep."

"Deer?"

"Yes."

"Gorillas?"

"Yes…"

"Elephants?"

"I think so…"

"Ducks?"

"Amy, all the animals you are about to say are there!" Knuckles burst.

"Even chupacabras?" Amy asked, crossing her arms. "I've never even _heard_ of those!" Knuckles snapped. "Amy, how'd you know about those? Are they on your planet?" Chuck suddenly asked. "No, but I was watching an animal show the other day, and it talked about them. They sound like vampire dogs, if ya ask me…" Amy replied. "Well actually, they're-" "Hey, Knuckles, is this the canyon you were talking about?" Tails suddenly interrupted. The echidna looked out of the glass covering to see a wide and long canyon that had a small river flowing in the middle of it. "Yup, that's it… I found that place at the very center of it," Knuckles explained.

"This isn't just any canyon, Knuckles…" Chuck suddenly said, "This is the _Grand_ Canyon!" "What's so grand about it?" Amy asked. "Just look at it! It's a famous place for tourists, too," Chuck told her. "But, there are canyons bigger than this on Mobius… Probably twice as big, actually…" Amy replied. "Y'know, it's not nice to brag…" Chuck retorted, a little jealous. Tails smirked at that comment, but his attention was brought to his plane as he prepared to land inside the canyon. Once on the ground, Knuckles hopped off of the aircraft, and studied his surroundings. "This is definitely the place…" He muttered.

Once everyone else was on the ground, Knuckles asked, "Everyone have their hoods?" "Yes," They all replied. "Good, put them on," He ordered. After that was done, Tails turned around and opened a panel in his X-Tornado. He typed in a few numbers and the plane suddenly disappeared into thin air. "Tails, I didn't know it could do that!" Chuck exclaimed. "It's a cloaking device; I installed it a few days before Sonic went missing," Tails explained sheepishly. "Great job, Tails," Chuck smiled at him. "Let's get going, we don't have long until the tournaments start…" Knuckles suddenly told them, as he started walking alongside the river.

After about ten minutes of walking, they came to a giant boulder sitting on the side of a canyon. "Here it is…" Knuckles mumbled. "This? We have to move _this?_" Amy exclaimed. "Shut it, 'hog! If they hear you, it won't be good…" Knuckles whispered. "How're we supposed to get in, though?" Tails asked. "Go put your hand on that rock, Tails," Knuckles chuckled. The fox walked up to the boulder, and placed his hand on it. He was startled when his hand when right through it, and he toppled over onto his muzzle. "Ow…" he muttered. "A hologram? Clever…" Chuck muttered, as he pulled a notepad out of nowhere and wrote in it with a pen. Tails got up, as he dusted the sand out of his fur, and turned back to Knuckles. "Let's go, just try to lay low and don't talk unless you see something important…" Knuckles told them, as he walked inside the rock.

The others followed him, and their jaws dropped when they studied the size of the place. There was a tunnel-like entrance in front of them with neon letters that read, _"James's House of Madness!"_ They walked through the entrance and was met by a bulky dog, that sniffed them up and down. A bulky man then walked over beside the dog and asked the group, "New here?" "Yeah," Knuckles replied in a deep voice. "Do you have an animal you would like to enter in the tournament?" He asked. "No, we're here just to watch…" Knuckles replied. "Right this way," The man then took them deeper into the main room, and they looked around in both horror and awe.

On the walls hung multiple animal heads on plaques. On the floor of the fighting arena there was blood splattered in multiple places. There were bleachers in the place that was already filling with anxious people. The arena where the fights were held was about the size of a large living room, and it had metal poles surrounding it to stop any animals that would try to escape. There were also multiple dogs sitting in different places around the giant room. They sat stiff still, and would only move if they spotted someone that was coming near them.

The man took them to some open seats that were closest to the arena and told them, "Don't worry about the animals attacking you. They're all wearing shock collars that will prevent them from leaving the arena." "Thank you," Knuckles told him, as he sat down. The man then nodded to him, and walked off, as the lights started to dim. Tails jumped when he heard a booming voice sound out of the speakers that surrounded the entire place. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" It exclaimed, "Tonight we have a real treat for you! In this tournament, we will be using our rarest contestant yet! So sit back, enjoy the rock music, and relax! I will go ahead and warn you though, if we have small children here, which I know we don't, you might want to cover their eyes in some parts of the show. Blood _will_ be shed tonight and you _will_ see the deaths of many animals here, so if you're an easy crier, I suggest you get the tissues ready!"

Amy and Tails cast each other a worried glance before turning their attention back to the announcer. "Now, without further ado, I present Round 1 of our tournament! Tonight we have a male German Sheppard named Sparky, and his owner, Kayla!" Some cheers erupted from the crowd, along with some boos, and a German Sheppard sulked through the aisles while being guided by two men wearing identical uniforms. The dog had a thick, metal collar latched around his neck, and he swayed from side to side, as if he were dizzy. He entered the arena, and as he went in between the metal poles, a light on his collar turned on.

"And his opponent, James's very own Pit-bull, Raptor!" A white dog then burst from the gates from the back of the place, and ran straight into the arena without hesitation. It lunged at Sparky, snarling, as drool dripped from its mouth. Raptor then snapped at Sparky's throat, but the German Sheppard bit down on his leg, causing him to shoot off of him. Raptor then tackled Sparky again, but this time, he made it to his throat… Sparky yelped in pain as he lay on the ground, with blood running from his throat. Tails couldn't bear to look as Raptor went and tore the poor dog to pieces. "And the winner is Raptor!" the announcer exclaimed. Raptor was taken back through the gates as two men removed the dead animal in the arena.

After witnessing many animals fall, Chuck, Tails, and Amy were feeling sick to their stomachs. Tails was about to ask Knuckles something, when the announcer cut in and exclaimed, "Now, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for! The final fight of our tournament! First up, we have an actual _lion_ fighting tonight!" Everyone jumped when a roaring was heard, and they all looked to the gates to see a male lion spring out of them, and run into the arena. It was wearing a collar also, just like all the other animals that had fought in the tournament. It walked right beside the poles of the arena, it's tail flicking from time to time as it eyed everyone in the audience.

"And finally… the creature that came from an entirely different planet… James's newest capture… _Sonic the Hedgehog_!" The announcer shouted. Chuck, Tails and Amy's eyes widened when they heard their beloved friend's name. They suddenly caught the sound of vicious snarling, and they looked to see the blue hedgehog himself, walking on all fours out of the gates. There were shackles on his ankles and wrists; they were all connected to each other, and they were rather short, forcing Sonic to walk on all fours. Sonic glared at everyone he passed, and occasionally snarled when someone threw something at him.

Just like all the other animals there, he too was wearing a thick metal collar, and he looked rather dazed, yet angry at the same time. Cuts and bruises covered his entire body, his gloves and shoes had been removed, and his fur was dull, and looked like it hadn't been taken care of. Long claws could be seen from his hands, and they looked sharp enough to cause serious damage. One of the hedgehog's ears was partially ripped off, and he had a long cut running across his muzzle.

Sonic stared straight at the lion, and froze in mid-step. "Okay, everyone! Time for the countdown!" The announcer suddenly exclaimed. "_'Countdown'_?" Tails repeated to Knuckles. The echidna sighed and told him, "Just watch…" "5…4…3…2…_1_!" The crowd shouted. Sonic then shot like a bullet towards the lion, and snarled as his claws flashed in the light. He landed on top of the big cat, and started raking his claws down its back. The lion roared in pain, as it tried shaking Sonic off, but he only dug his claws deeper into its flesh. Sonic then suddenly jumped off of the lion, and slid underneath it to slash open its stomach. Tails gasp as he watched what was happening, and tears stung his eyes as Sonic delivered the final blow to the throat, and the poor lion fell to the ground, as its last breath escaped its mouth.

Cheers then erupted from the crowd of people, but Knuckles, Amy, Chuck, and Tails were quiet. "And the winner of tonight's tournament it Sonic!" The announcer roared. A very built, and muscular man then came out into the arena, and he bowed to the audience as Sonic walked over to him. The man then took out a microphone and said, "Thank you all for coming to tonight's show! My pet here is surely something that puts any other animal to shame!" The man then motioned to Sonic, whom was licking the blood off his hands.

_'Pet?!'_ Tails thought angrily. "I hope you come back next week! I'm James Dock, and I wish you all a good night!" The man then bowed once more, as he walked towards the back gates, with Sonic right at his side. Tails turned to Knuckles as crowds of people started to leave the bleachers and out of the building. "He-… he _killed_…" Tails whispered. "I know, but did you see how… '_off_' he looked?" Knuckles replied lowly. "Yes, I noticed that in all the animals… These people are either drugging them, or they're doing something to break their spirit…" Chuck told them. "We have to do something… and fast," Amy chimed in. "I agree… we'll camp out a little ways from this place and think of something later…" Knuckles said. "Right, let's get out of here…" Tails then made it out of the building, and headed towards his plane, with thoughts whirring in his head.

_'I can't believe he actually killed that lion… He did look really woozy though… I just wonder how they caught him in the first place. Tranquilizers, maybe…_

_I just hope he's okay…'_


	2. Chapter 1

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

Tails woke up the next morning in a small cave hidden inside the canyon. Amy, Knuckles, and Chuck lay a little ways from him, still asleep. The fox sat up, stretched, and stood up. His ears pricked to the sound of rain outside the cave, and looked to see it coming down heavily. Tails walked to the mouth of the cave and stuck his hand out to feel the cold water splatter on his glove. "Tails?" The fox turned around to see Amy sitting up while rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, Amy?" He replied. The hedgehog stood up, while stretching, and walked over beside him. "I'm worried about Sonic…" She muttered. "I am too… but we'll get him back… Everything will turn out fine, just like it always does," Tails reassured her.

Amy stared at the rain pouring down as if in thought, and she finally smiled and nodded to Tails. "You're right… Hey, we should wake those two so that we can think of a plan," Amy told him, pointing to Chuck and Knuckles. Tails chuckled and nodded as he made his way to the snoring man.

Meanwhile, a certain blue hedgehog was lying uncomfortably in a small cage. The cage was almost like a metal box. The back, top and sides of the container were metal plates, while the front had metal bars that could only be opened with a key on the outside. Sonic's arm hung out of a space between the metal bars of his cage as he lay on his side while his world swayed back and forth. The room that all the cages were held in looked similar to a grocery store. It had different aisles that held different types of animals. There were numerous animals in cages that were all in the same state as the blue hedgehog. They were all a little dazed as well as a little nauseous, and they wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

Sonic's limbs felt utterly sore and heavy, and he could barely move his fingers without tiring himself out. Every day those mean people would taunt all the animals there and inject them with some kind of drug. When injected with it, they would start to feel dizzy, and then they'd feel as if every muscle in their body weighed a ton. Even Sonic's light, pointed ears felt like weights, and they drooped down on his head. Every time a new tournament would begin, those people would inject them with something else, and it made them aggressive. When Sonic was injected with it for the very first time, he tried attacking anyone and anything that passed by his cage until it was his turn to fight. Once, he pressed his back against the back of the cage, and kicked at the front as hard as he could. After about ten minutes, he finally kicked it so hard that the metal bars were knocked out of place, and they flew across the aisle to hit the cage across from him.

Of course, when he tried making a run for it, those people cornered him, and since he couldn't move very well, due to his shackles, they eventually shot him with a tranquilizer. They had then put him in the cage he was in now, and he couldn't even lie on his belly without the top of his head smashing up against the top of the container. Sonic wanted out… badly. He wanted to be with his friends again. He wanted to be able to taste a wonderful chili dog again. And he wanted to _run_… The people that ran the place would only let him out for three things.

One, to muzzle him so that they could take him to the front gates. Once he was there, they would inject that stuff into him, and he'd lunge at anything that looked like it could fight in the tournaments. Two, to take him to the '_room_'. Sonic _hated_ the '_room_'. They would muzzle him so he couldn't bite the humans, and they'd tie him up hog style. Once in that position, they would take what they called their '_toys_', and '_play_' with him. Sonic shuddered as he recalled what had happened just last week. Whips… So. Many. _Whips_. He was lucky he didn't bleed to death, until one of the workers finally got bored and cleaned him up so they could continue to enter him in tournaments.

And the last reason was to traumatize him… James, the owner of the place, wanted all the animals mentally broken so that if someone _did_ manage to stop his business, the animals wouldn't be of any use. They would dunk Sonic in a tank of water and leave him to try and thrash to the surface until he was so out of breath, that he would almost pass out every time. Another thing they did to him was make loud noises, followed by either a whip, or another weapon towards him. They eventually tried to make Sonic afraid of loud noises, so when he heard something that sounded of destruction, he would yelp and try to find the source so he could get rid of it. Considering that he was in a room _filled_ with animals that made all kinds of noises, he wasn't exactly 'relaxed'.

Those people would feed them twice a day. Once in the morning, and once at night. They did this so that carnivores would be more vicious in the tournament. And Sonic fell into the carnivore section.

Sonic looked at the cage across the aisle, and saw a light brown rabbit. It was curled up in the back of its cage, and it stared right back at Sonic. That rabbit reminded Sonic of someone that he knew. It was another rabbit, with the sweetest voice in the world. Sonic's mind then drifted off to another friend he recalled, and it was a hot headed echidna. Those big fists, and the intimidating violet eyes. He then thought of a hedgehog he knew. Her short pink hair and her sparkling jade eyes. Then, finally his mind settled on a two tailed fox. His joyful attitude and a problem solver. The fox wasn't just a close friend, he was his _brother_.

Sonic missed them all so much…

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

_"I've almost forgotten what they look like… Why haven't they found me yet? Don't they care? No, no… I can't think like that… I'll get out of here… somehow… My brother will find me, I know he will… My eyes suddenly widened as I thought of my brother. He was my brother and-… th-that's all I knew… What was his name…? What was his name?! I can't even remember his name! I clenched my eyes shut as I thought as hard as I possibly could. T-tony? No, that's not it! T-taylor! No, that's not it either! T-tale?! Wait-! T-tail… Tails! His name was _Tails_! T.A.I.L.S.!" _My eyes started to sting with tears. I had almost forgotten my OWN brother's name!

I started to feel sick to my stomach as I realized all my other friends' names couldn't come to my mind. But my thoughts were interrupted when the lights suddenly went out, forcing me to attempt to prick my ears for any signs of danger. This stupid drug is finally starting to wear off. I pulled my arm back inside my cage, as I strained my ears for any sound that could've been emitted… Nothing… Absolutely nothing was heard. The animals weren't even making a sound. It was eerily quiet, and I hated it. Then, that's when I heard men shouting. "_Fred_! What happened to the lights?!" "I-I dunno, Jack!" "Well, fix it before James finds out!" They shouted. I suddenly heard them both scream in pain as footsteps were heard.

I started to grow nervous, I couldn't see, and someone could be trying to steal some of the animals here. Meaning I could very well be in trouble. My ears perked up again when I heard something, or someone, whisper my name. I shook my head in disbelief; I must be imagining it… I _have_ to be imagining it… _"Sonic…"_ I heard it again, and for the first time in years, tears started flowing down my face freely. "I-I-I-… _I-I'm here_…" My voice sounded scratchy and hoarse, I hadn't spoken in so long… _"Sonic?!"_ The voice whispered again. _"I-I'm here!"_ I whispered back, loud enough to hear. I suddenly saw a dim light moving towards me, and the light revealed a gloved hand and part of a face. It was a watch… but I've seen something like that before…

"S-_Sonic_?! I-Is that you?!" The person whispered. The light came closer to me, and it shined on my face. As the person came closer, he lifted the watch up so I could see his face. The white muzzle… The bangs… The sky blue eyes… It was Tails… My tears continued to flow in both joy and terror. I was so happy to see him again! But at the same time, I was scared that James' workers would catch him. Tails' eyes started to water as he met mine, and I smiled at him. "G-good to see ya, b-buddy…" I told him. Tails then took out a little metal piece, and picked at the lock on my cage. When I heard it click, he swung it open, and reached in to hug me. I happily let him, and I hugged him back the best I could, since my arms were still aching. He pulled me out of my cramped cage, and I fell on my knees on the ground. I tried standing up, but I was reminded of my shackles when I only made it into a squatting position.

Without hesitation, he flipped his watch up and started talking into it. "Guys, mission accomplished. Head back to checkpoint," He said. Tails then looked down at me, and smiled as he said, "Let's get out of here…" I nodded to him, and we both bolted down to the entrance of this prison. I made it about halfway until I started to feel nauseous. _Really_ nauseous… I stumbled forwards, as the world started tilting like a see-saw. "Sonic?" I heard Tails call my name, and he looked for me in the darkness. "I-I'm still here… T-tails…" I muttered. "Sonic what's wrong?" "I-I-I'm n-not feeling so great…" I replied. "C'mon, we're almost there! Don't give up _now_!" He exclaimed quietly. I tried picking myself up again, but I found that my body limbs were heavy again. "I-I can't move…" I told him drowsily.

I then felt him lifting me up, and I heard the swishing of his tails. After a little bit, I saw a light ahead of us. We flew towards it, and soon we were in the pouring rain. "_We made it out… We _actually_ made it out…"_ Instead of dreading the rain, I laughed in joy as I felt it pelt my face.

We eventually came to a cave, and Tails set me in the back against the wall, and he sat down in front of me. "_I can't believe it…_" I heard him whisper. I looked at him as I cocked my head. "I-I can't believe I finally _found_ you… I-I-" He stopped when he suddenly wrapped me in a tight hug. "I-I thought I'd never see you again…" I started feeling something dampen my chest, and I pricked my ears to hear him crying. "_Tails…_" I whispered. I brought him closer to me as I put my arms around him. "I-I _missed_ y-you…" The fox sobbed. "I'm so gl-glad you're okay…" "I missed you too, bro…." I told him. My muscles started to feel lighter again, and my dizziness started to go away as my mind finally cleared. Everything then started to dawn on me. I've been away for three, long months… I was forced to fight and kill for show… and now I was hugging the person I've been longing to see.

I clenched my eyes shut, as tears started to well up in them. "I-I thought I was going to be in there _forever_… It was _terrible_ Tails! I _hated_ it! I-I thought y-you'd forgotten about me!" I cried. The young fox looked up at me in shock. That's when I remembered, he'd never exactly seen me cry before. "Tails?! Sonic?! Are you guys in there?!" We suddenly heard another voice, and I tensed up. I couldn't think of who it belonged to. "Y-yeah! H-he's in here!" Tails then gently pulled away from my hug, and wiped his tears. He then stood up, and walked to the lighter part of the cave. I got on all fours and followed him to see a pink hedgehog, a red echidna and a-… _A-a-a-a-_…! I froze up as I looked at the old man standing at the mouth of the cave. _"He- he was- he was a human!"_

My attention was brought to the pink hedgehog when she suddenly shrieked my name, and tackled me to the ground. I was scared at first, but then the girl's name slowly formed in my head. "A-Amy?!" I stuttered. I sat up and brought her into a hug, which she gladly gave back. "Glad to have ya back, 'hog!" I suddenly heard the echidna's voice, and his name came to my head, too. "Knuckles!" I smiled. "I have to second that, Knuckles," I suddenly heard the old man speak, and I froze, as I stared at him. "Sonic?" Amy asked me.

I started to feel dizzy, but I kept staring at the man as he gave me an uncomfortable look. I suddenly felt the claws at the tips of my fingers flex outwards, and I heard myself snarling. "_Sonic?!_" I heard Amy exclaim, as she jumped away from me. "Sonic, what's wrong?" The man asked me. That only made my quills flare, and I lashed out at him, but missed as he dodged. "Hey! What's wrong with you, hedgehog?!" Knuckles asked me. I kept my eyes fixed on the man, who looked nervous. I snarled at him again, as I lunged with my claws flashing, but before I made contact, something knocked me to the other side of the cave.

I got back up instantly, and looked to see Amy with her Piko-Piko hammer. "What's the _matter_ with you?! Can't you see he's a _human_?!" I snarled. "I don't know what happened to you in that place, but you have no right to attack Chuck!" Amy spat at me. _"Chuck… Chuck… Chuck-! That was Chuck! What am I doing?!"_ I suddenly stumbled backwards, as my eyes widened in realization. "Ch-Chuck! I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't know th-that you were-!" "It's alright… It's not your fault, you thought I worked for that guy named James since all the humans there were cruel to you. I understand," Chuck told me calmly. I looked at the ground as I saw him walk over to me. "I'm sorry…" I told him, with my ears against my head.

"I already said it's alright… You were just confused," He put his hand on my forehead, and I tensed at first, but remembered that Chuck was good. I relaxed my muscles as he started rubbing the top of my head. "See? The people who forced you to fight are bad, but I'm your friend," He said, as he removed his hand from my forehead. I looked up at him, and gave a small smile, "Thanks, Chuck…" He winked back at me as he stood up, and looked at Tails. "We should get out of here," Chuck told him. Tails nodded to him, and said, "We'll wait until it's dark. We have to pass The House of Madness to get to it."

I shivered as I thought of that place… That awful, _awful_ place… I was about to ask Knuckles something, when I felt something prick my back, and another wave of dizziness hit me hard. I sat down, as the world started blurring. "Sonic? A-are you okay?" I heard Tails ask. I suddenly felt like my insides were on fire, and I fell forward with a 'thump.' "_Sonic!_" I heard everyone yell in faint voices. My eyes started to droop, and right before I my world faded to black I heard an all too familiar voice behind me laugh and say,

"Sweet dreams, _hedgehog_!"


	3. Chapter 2

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

I woke up feeling weird. My whole body felt like it tickled a little bit, but it hurt at the same time. I opened an eye to get a glimpse of my surroundings, and I found myself looking at the roof of a cave. I pricked my ears to hear arguing, and I tried to make out the words of the voices. "If you let us take the hedgehog nice and easy, we just might let ya go…" someone threatened. "_Over my dead body_!" yelled someone else. "That can be arranged!" another voice boomed. _"I recognize all of these voices… Who were they?"_

I fully opened both of my eyes, and I tried lifting my head up. Unfortunately, a wave of dizziness hit me as I did so, and my head plopped downwards again. I tried moving my arms to support myself upward, but I found that they felt like they weighed a ton. "Aw, man…" I whispered to myself. "Oh, looks like the _warthog_ is finally up…" I heard a voice mutter. "Sonic?" I heard someone call my name, but I couldn't think of who it was… I suddenly yelped in pain as I felt something strike my side, and I clenched my eyes shut. "_Stop_ it!" I heard someone shout. "Make me." I suddenly felt something ram into my side again, and I yelled in pain.

"Please! _Stop!_" A voice cried. I felt something hit my side one last time before I could finally move. In one motion my claws slid out of my fingers, and I slashed at the blurry figure that kept hurting me. "_Argh!_ Dang _rodent_!" the figure yelled, as he held his leg. I slowly got up on all fours, and waited until my vision was clear to glare at the figure. I studied my surroundings, and saw 12 figures in the cave I was in. I recognized Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Chuck. They were surrounded by five big dogs, and couldn't go anywhere. I glanced at the three remaining figures, and gave a look of terror to see two men and one woman. I recognized the woman; she was the one that always laughed at me when I was dunked in the tank… I recognized the man that I had slashed standing there, too. He was the one that always whipped me, and was responsible for giving me the multiple scars on my back.

But the one person that sent chills down my spine, wasn't someone I recognized… It was someone I _knew_… "James…" I said in a shaky whisper. "Ha ha ha! I see you remember me! Tell me; are you ready to go back into the tournaments?" The black haired man snickered. I took two wobbly steps backwards while pressing my ears against my head, and shook my head. "Leave him _alone_!" Amy shouted. To my terror, James took a step towards me, but I took a step back. "Oh, come now, don't be shy!" The man smirked. I wanted to roll over and die when he pulled out a syringe. "N-no… N-no! _Please_!" I begged, as he came closer.

"I'm curious to see if this will get you to actually attack _anythung_…" James then gave me an evil smile, and I was frozen to the spot. "_No! Stay **away** from him!_" I heard Tails yell. I wanted to run… Run as fast and hard as I could… He came closer to me, and my muscles tensed. I tried to back away, but my body had locked up. I couldn't move… "_One, two, three, four… Someone's gonna see some gore… Five, six, seven, eight… Better run before it's too late… Nine, ten, eleven, twelve… I'd love to see you die **myself**,_" James sang, as he took step after step towards me. Those words… those horrible, _horrible_ words… He said them to me every time he was about to make me go into the arena…

I couldn't move; I'd never been so terrified in my life. I hoped with all my heart that this was just a bad dream… If he injected me with what he was holding, he'd make me fight my friends… "Pl-please! J-just leave me _alone!_ I-I just want to go _home!_" I begged. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw all my friends look at me in shock. They'd never seen me in this state… I'm ashamed of what I've become… "Sorry, but I need money right now, and you're the only way I can get it!" James suddenly lunged at me with the syringe, and my vision started to haze as I felt the needle puncture my skin, and I seemed to have lost my self-control…

I quickly slashed his face, and then rolled to the side as he tripped forwards. "_Argh!_" The man yelled, as he held his face. I wasn't done with him yet… I turned around and l bit down on his hand. The same hand that had fired a tranquillizer gun to capture me… James yelled in pain as I snarled and pulled backwards with his hand inside my mouth. I let go of his hand when he swatted me away with his other limb, but I quickly leapt on top of him, with my razor sharp claws near his throat… His vulnerable, bitable, throat…. I snarled at him, and looked into his terrified eyes. I wanted so badly to end him now, to stop this sick and twisted man forever… I raised my free hand, and let my claws flash in the light.

It would be so easy… "S-Sic… S-_sic 'im_!" James suddenly yelled. My ears pricked to hear the dogs surrounding my friends barking, and I heard the rapid pounding of their paws on the cave floor. I turned around just in time for one of them to knock me off of James, and pin me to the ground. "_Aaaahhhh!_" I screamed, as I felt his teeth sink into the side of my face. I took both of my hands and slashed at his throat, thus making him immediately yelp and jump off of me. "_One down, five to go…"_ Another dog lunged at me, but when he came close enough, I ducked, and slashed his belly as he flew over me. The next dog then charged at me, but I dodged and let him run into a rock behind me. I stared at the other dog, it was a lot bigger than the others, and it had foam around its mouth with an insane look in its eyes. Blood trickled down my face from where the first dog had bitten me, but I ignored it as the large dog charged at me. I jumped in the air, and instead of landing on him, I ripped the top of his head open. The dog fell to the ground, and lie there, lifeless. I looked at the other four dogs splayed on the ground, and I gave a smirk. That was almost too easy. I yelped when I suddenly felt pain in my right side, and I looked to see a Rottweiler with his teeth in my flesh.

He pushed me to the ground, digging me into the dirt. I tried taking my claws and lashing at his face, but he abruptly moved his head and snapped at my neck. I quickly tried pushing his chin upwards, but somehow he forced my hand back down. I then pushed my claws into the bottom of his chin, and heard him yelp as he threw his head up. That move gave me the chance to slash his throat open, and he, too, fell to the ground.

I yelped when I felt something sting my back, and I turned around to see James' worker holding a whip.

I gave him a wicked smile before I lunged at him with my claws flashing in the light. I landed on his chest, and sunk my black claws into his flesh. "_Aaaaaahhhh!_" The man screamed. He tried pulling me off of him with his hands, but I just tightened my grip on him. I suddenly felt another sharp sting on my back, and I turned my head to see the woman. I brought my feet up, and kicked off of the man, and landed on the ground. I gave the woman a wicked smile, and she immediately had horror in her eyes. "_Heh heh heh…_" I chuckled.

I charged at her, but just as I was about to jump, I slid in between her legs, and ran my claws through her ankles, making her fall on the ground almost instantly. I then jumped on top of her, and stared into her terrified, green eyes. My anger mounted when I recalled everything she'd put me through. All. That._ Water_. I snarled as I slit her neck quickly, and jumped off her with no regret. I then looked around and locked eyes with the old man. _"What was his name again?... It doesn't matter… He's still a threat!"_

I felt my lips draw back into a snarl, showing off my fangs I'd recently gotten. Those people had some unfathomably smart dentists… They injected my gums with something, and the next day I'd felt my new, and long, canine-like teeth.

"S-sonic! It's me, _Chuck_!" The man stuttered, as he slowly started backing away. My quills slowly started to bristle, making them appear sharper and bigger. "_You…_" I muttered, "You'll regret what you did…" "Sonic, it's _me_! _Chuck!_" He told me in fright. "Ch-chuck?" I whispered, a hint of fear in my voice. "Yes! I'm your _friend_!" He exclaimed. "H-he's… He's lying to you!" Everyone turned their heads to see James leaning against the wall of the cave. I growled at him as he came towards me. "_Think_, hedgehog, if he's really your friend, why is he scared of you? I thought friends always trusted each other…" James told me slyly.

"_No!_ That's not true! Chuck cares about Sonic, and so do we!" I heard Amy exclaim. "Then tell _him_ that," James smiled evilly. "Sonic, we _do_ care about you! We-" "Then… Then how come it took you so long to find me?" I suddenly asked, interrupting the pink hedgehog. "We didn't know where you were! It's a big world! Sonic, we-" "But I was right outside the mansion when they took me. Didn't any of you _see?!_" I suddenly burst. "Wh-what do you mean?" Tails asked me. I dug my claws in the ground in frustration, trying to keep my cool. "I… I had just finished helping you with your plane… I went for a run, but forgot to tell you that I was going… So, I tried to come back, but right before I made it into the garage, James shot me with a tranquillizer, and I fell unconscious on the pavement… _Right in front of you're stupid plane_!" I shouted, making the top of the cave rattle.

Tails was speechless. "I yelled your name, but you were using a blowtorch, and couldn't hear anything…" I told him, as my voice cracked. "Th-then, after the first few weeks here… I-I started wondering if you even _cared_ that I was gone… I-If you saw them take me, and didn't _do_ anything about it…" Tears started to sting my eyes as I spoke those words. "I-I didn't think I'd ever _see_ you again…" My ears were pressed against my head as an attempt to hold back tears. "Sonic, I-" I interrupted the fox, when I snorted and told him, "I'm not done talking, so _shut_ your mouth! You have _no idea_ what I've went through! If it was you standing here, forced to walk on all fours, and half starving, _you'd be a little angry with me, too_! _I've got so many scars and cuts_, _that I've lost count of how many times I've fought an animal_!" "Sonic, I understand, but-" "_NO_! You _don't_ understand! I can't even _process_ all the things they did to me in there! I-I… I _thought_…! I thought I was going to _die_ in there…" A tear suddenly made its way down my cheek, and I turned my head away from my friends.

"Sonic, we _do_ care about you! Tails didn't see you, and it wasn't his fault! We'll _always_ be there for you, and back you up when you need it! We came all the way here just to find you so we could have one of our best friends back!" Amy explained to me, with tears in her eyes. I looked back at her, my emerald eyes staring at her dead in the eye, as I asked, "Then why are you _afraid_ of me?"

"We're not!" "Don't lie to me, Amy… I've saved you too many times to know that deep down, you're afraid I'm going to hurt you…" I told her lowly. She was silent. "Sonic… _Please_… believe me when I say that _all_ of us care about you-" "I already know that, Tails… and I'm grateful for it…" I interrupted. "Then why are you making a big _deal_ about it?!" Knuckles suddenly blurted, irritated. "I-I… I don't know… I guess I'm just tired…" I sighed. "Let's get out of here, then… Let's go home," Tails gave me a warm smile, and I was about to walk over to him, when I suddenly heard a clicking noise.

I knew that noise… That _horrid_ noise… I looked back in terror at James, who was making a clicking noise with his mouth. "_N-no_… Y-you _wouldn't_…" I sputtered. The black haired man gave me a wicked smile, and we suddenly heard the sound of roaring. I started trembling, and I could hear myself start to hyperventilate as I looked around frantically. "Please… m-make him go back!" I yelled. "Sonic?" I heard Tails ask. "Sorry, I gave you a chance to go back into the tournaments, and you blew it," James snickered. I jumped out of my fur when I heard a deafening roar echo through the canyon. My claws shakily slid out of my fingertips as I looked around cautiously.

A large, black, figure suddenly barreled through the mouth of the cave, and I screamed in terror. It swung its oversized paw and knocked me clear across the cave. "What the _heck_ is that thing?!" Tails exclaimed. I trembled as I looked at the creature that was standing before me. It was a giant grizzly bear, on four paws it stood to eight feet. Its muscles were huge, and one of its eyes was gray from an injury involving me. I had cut his eye, and he'd tried to kill me ever since.

"Ah, Dagger! I see you heard my call!" James smiled. "Get rid of this blue mutant…" He told the bear. Dagger roared as he charged at me and I barely rolled out of the way, while he made a crater where I had been. While his back was turned, I tried slashing his side, but he didn't so much as flinch. The bear quickly turned and knocked me across the cave, making my head hit a rock. The world starting spinning, as I felt a terrible throbbing in my head, and I dizzily looked over to see Dagger swinging its head side to side as it walked over to me.

I dizzily stood up, and tried my best to dodge all of his swinging paws. I tried backing away from Dagger, but I felt the back of my foot bump into the cave wall. I was cornered… The bear loomed over me, casting his shadow over my trembling body. He raised his paw to deliver a hard blow, and I clenched my eyes shut as I waited for impact... But it never came…

I fearfully cracked an eye to see the bear knocked out, and lying on the ground. My eyes widened as I spotted a dart lodged in its rear, and I looked over at Tails to see him holding a dart gun. I gave a deep and relieved sigh, as I sat down. "You won't see the last of me, _hedgehog_!" I snapped my head over to James to see him running out of the cave. I could feel my adrenaline rush dying down, and I started to feel a little woozy. "I think we should be heading back to the mansion…" I heard Tails mutter. "_Agreed_," we all replied. I started taking one shaky step after another after my friends as we made our way out of the cave, and I felt the rain washing off the blood that still ran down my face and side.

We had been walking for about ten minutes before I caught sight of a giant bolder. The same boulder that held pure and evil torture behind it… "Sonic? You comin'?" I suddenly heard Knuckles' voice, and I realized I'd stopped. I nodded as I caught up with the others, glancing back at the rock from time to time. Tails soon revealed his invisible plane, and we all climbed inside of it. Only… There were only four seats… I shrugged it off and told them I'd take the floorboard. "Are you sure?" Tails asked me. "Can't be worse than a cramped cage," I smirked. "Alright… Sit below Knuckles' seat; he has the most room. Plus, I think he could break those shackles off of you," Tails explained.

"Heh, I almost forgot I was wearing 'em…" I chuckled. The fox then gave me an uncomfortable look, but he quickly shook his head, smiling. I then hopped inside the middle section of his plane-like jet, and sat down at Knuckles' feet. Tails took the pilot's seat, of course, Amy sat behind him, Knuckles and I sat behind her, and Chuck sat behind us. Once we were in the air, Knuckles easily broke the shackles off of my wrists and ankles. Then, for the first time in three months, I fully stretched out my limbs, pulling my muscles as I saw fit. Once I was done, I took a deep breath and said, "Much better…"

"_Dude_… what happened to your _stomach_?!" I jumped when Knuckles suddenly asked me that question, and I traced his eyes to the large, and wide, cut that ran from my chest to my waist. "Oh, I um… I-I don't really remember…" I stuttered. I couldn't tell him… I-I just couldn't. "Che, that's a lie… Seriously, what happened?" The echidna pressed. "I-I… tried to-" I suddenly stopped as the words almost escaped my mouth. "I-I told you, I can't remember!" I spat. "You're a terrible liar, y'know that? Now tell me what happened. It'll be between you and me, no one else," Knuckles persuaded me. I thought for a moment before looking him in the eye and asked, "_Promise?_" "Promise." "I-I…" I swallowed hard as I searched my head for the right words. "I… I thought-…" I sighed, and told him, "Let's just say, I didn't think living was important anymore…"

"You committed _suicide_?!" "_Shut up_!" I hissed, "They'll hear you!" "How does someone do _that_ to themselves and _live_?!" He continued, pointing to my abdomen. I sighed again while cocking an eyebrow at him. I'd forgotten how hot headed he was… "It was just a few days ago when I did it… I'm actually surprised I did live through it…" "So, what exactly did you do?" Knuckles asked. "Metal piece…" was all I said. It was all he needed to hear before he nodded in understanding. "If you tell _anyone_ I swear I will-" "I won't, I won't, don't get your quills in a knot…" The echidna interrupted. I snorted before I got down on my belly and folded my legs beside me. Then, I laid my head down on my hands that were underneath my chin.

"Since when do you sleep like that?" Knuckles suddenly asked. "Since I've been locked in a hard, metal cage for three months with no room to stand up or splay out…" I retorted. "Heh, sorry…" "Wow, Knuckles, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me…" I told him sarcastically. "Hey, just because you've been a serial killer for three months doesn't mean-" He stopped short when my eyes widened at that title. _"Killer…"_ "I-I'm…" I clenched my eyes shut as my voice cracked. "Sonic, I-I didn't mean it, I-" I turned my head away as a tear of regret rolled down my face. "B-be quiet… J-just shut up…" I whispered.

He didn't utter another word…


	4. Chapter 3

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Chapter 3**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

It was about sunset when I felt something prod my side, waking me from my nap. My head shot up immediately, and my ears pricked for danger. However, I looked up and saw Tails, and I calmed down. "Hey," I smiled. "Ready to see the others again?" "Yep!" I replied. I tried standing up on two legs, but they wobbled and I fell against the side of the plane. "Want some help?" Tails chuckled. I saw his hand reaching up for me, and I started to grow nervous. "Uh- n-no thanks; I'll get down myself…" I stuttered. I pulled myself over the edge of the plane, but fell downwards on my face. I yelped in surprise, and sat up, holding my nose.

I tried standing up again, but my legs buckled for the second time, and I fell down. "_Ump_!" I grunted.

(Chris' P.O.V.)

"I can't wait to see Sonic again!" I looked over at Cream and Cheese, who could barely contain their excitement, and I smiled. We were standing in the front yard. Tails had come and told us that Sonic was asleep, so he waited a little bit before waking him up."Yeah, me neither!" "Chris, come here for a second…" I turned around to see my grandpa, and I followed him into the living room. "Now, before you go and give Sonic a welcoming party, I have to warn you… He's been through a lot… More than any of us could experience… He's um… He's… trying to adapt to not being abused again…" My grandpa's words took a second to soak in, and I looked at him in shock.

"What do you mean, '_abused_'?" I asked. "I'll explain later, but…" there was a long pause, "When he first saw me, he tried to attack me, Chris… I don't want you getting hurt, so try not to-" "Sonic would never do that to me! I'm sure I'll be fine grandpa, I-" "Chris, _listen_ to me!" He suddenly grabbed my shoulders, "Sonic's not the same as he was before! The people who kidnapped him practically broke him! You have to be careful, and avoid contact with him until his mind settles again!" I sighed as I looked at the ground and told him, "Alright… But I know Sonic would _never_ hurt me…"

Grandpa was about to say something else, when we both heard Cream yell, "Mister Sonic! You're back!" Grandpa quickly stood in front of me as we walked to the entrance to the garage, and I gasped when I saw Sonic. He looked _terrible_… One of his ears looked as if it'd been ripped off, and multiple patches of his fur were missing. He had cuts, scratches and bruises all over him, but the one that caught my attention was the long slash on his belly. Every single one of his ribs was showing, and he had a black eye. The hedgehog's gloves and shoes were missing, and his wrists and ankles had reddish rings around them, as if they were raw. His fur was caked with what looked like dirt and… _blood_? And the bottom half of his quills looked as if they'd been ripped out. Were those… _fangs_?!

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

"Uh-…" I stared at the rabbit running up to me, and I tried to think of her name. _"C-Can? Cran? Cream! Her name was Cream!"_ "Hey, long time no see!" I told her. I was leaning against Tails, since my legs still didn't want to hold all my weight. "Okay, Tails, we unloaded everything off the Tornado…" I looked behind me to see Knuckles and Amy walking towards us. "Sonic," I suddenly heard Chuck call my name, and he asked, "You remember Chris, Ella, and Mr. Tanaka, don't you?" He stepped aside to let my eyes study a brown headed boy, a plump lady, and a tall, skinny… b-black h-haired… m-man…

I stared at them all in a mix of confusion and fear, and I found myself trembling slightly. "Sonic, it's okay. They're our friends, remember? Chris, Ella, and Tanaka; you know them," Tails told me. "I-I…" Wait a second… "Y-You're the boy who… who pulled me out of the pool…" I told the brown headed kid nervously. "Yeah, I'm Chris," he told me. I then looked over at the lady, and studied her hard. "You… You're _Ella_! Y-You make the food!" I pointed to her, and she smiled at me. "It's good to see you again, darling," she told me sweetly, in an accent. Then, my eyes locked on the tall man. He looked at me with a rock hard face and it creeped me out. I found myself trying to take a step back, as I stared at his black hair.

"_J-James_…" I whispered in terror. "Sonic, th-that's not James, it's Tanaka," Tails told me. I sensed panic coming from him, and it scared me even more. I started trembling uncontrollably, and I tried backing up once more. "It- It's James…" I repeated. "No it's not, I promise," Tails was trying hard to keep calm, I could tell. I broke from his grip, and I found that my legs would finally hold me up, but they were still wobbly. I backed up, and stared at the man in terror. "Sonic, j-just calm down… I promise he won't hurt you," I heard Tails talking to me again, and I looked at him nervously. I suddenly froze when the man took a step towards me. I felt my lips slowly curling back, while a low growl escaped my throat.

I turned my head to see Amy's hand on my shoulder, and I tensed. "Sonic, calm down…" she told me, "I know he looks like James a bit, but trust me, he's not. James was more built, remember? Plus, he had blue eyes, while Tanaka has brown eyes. They're two different people." I looked at the man closely, and realized she was right… That's when it hit me… "_Tanaka_?!" "Yes, that's right!" Tails exclaimed. "H-he's the butler… R-right?" I asked. "Mmhmm," Tails nodded. I pinned my ears to my head in embarrassment, and looked away. "Sorry…" I muttered. "It's quite alright…" Tanaka replied.

"Why don't we go inside and eat? I'm sure you're very hungry, Sonic!" My ears pricked at the mention of food, and my stomach growled painfully. "Sounds like a plan…" Knuckles replied. When we all got inside, it felt odd sitting upright to eat again… I was used to not being able to sit up. I had to eat while I was lying down."I made potato soup! I hope you all like it!" Ella exclaimed, as she passed out the bowls. I stared at the white liquid curiously, and I looked around to see everyone eating with a little metal thing. I felt embarrassed even though no one was looking at me.

I picked up my little thing like Tails did, and I dipped it in the soup. I pulled it out, and the soup was inside the little dip in the metal thing. I quickly tried putting it in my mouth, but the sudden movement caused the soup to tilt out of the metal thing. It. Was. _Hot_… "Ouch…" I muttered. Tails looked at me in confusion, and then looked at the thing I was holding. "What is it, Sonic?" he asked. I pinned my ears to my head and looked away. "You forgot how to eat with silverware, didn't you?" he whispered. So that's what it was called! Now I remember! I looked back at him and nodded sheepishly, and he smiled at me. "It's okay, Sonic, just do this," Tails then put the silverware in his soup, and brought it to his mouth without spilling it. I copied exactly what he did, and I tasted the wonderful mixture at last. My stomach growled for more, and it took six bowls of soup to satisfy my hunger.

"_That_ was good…" I looked over at Tails, but he didn't look as cheerful as he usually did. "What's wrong?" I asked. He shook his head and smiled, "Nothing, just day dreaming…" However, I somehow knew he was lying. "Hey, let's go get you cleaned up!" He suddenly suggested.

"_I'm not going in_!" I yelled. I was clutching the doorframe desperately as Knuckles and Tails tried pulling me into the bathroom. "You have to! You smell like you died _three times_!" Knuckles shouted. I suddenly heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and I opened my eyes to see Amy with a smug look on her face. "Don't you _dare_!" I told her. One by one, she plucked my fingers from the doorframe, and Knuckles and Tails forced me into the bathtub. "_I hate you all_!" I yelled, more playful than serious. "Yeah, yeah…" Knuckles muttered.

After I took an unwanted bath, I actually felt pretty good. I was sitting in Tails' room. Well… a spare room that Chris had offered to Tails…The fox gave me another pair of shoes that looked exactly like my old ones, and I got a new pair of gloves. They were black and fingerless, but I didn't mind, at least when I needed my claws I wouldn't-… I rubbed my forehead in confusion. Everything seems so… so _different_ now… "Hey, Sonic?" Tails' voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up at him. "Hey, what's up?" I asked. "I-I wanted to ask… wh-what did they do to you in there?" He looked at me nervously, and I sighed.

"Different things…" I muttered. I knew what he meant by 'they', but I didn't wanna talk about it… Someone his age doesn't need to know what… what h-he did… I shuddered at the thought of that terrible night. "Sonic?" Tails asked, bringing me out of my thoughts again. "Sonic, please tell me… Maybe I could help," He suggested. I shook my head and told him, "It-it's complicated, Tails…" "What's complicated?" He pressed. "Tails, I know how you work and I'm not gonna-" I suddenly froze as I heard a whispering noise. "Do… know… you… want…" It breathed; it was so quiet that I couldn't make out what it said. "What?" I muttered to myself.

"Sonic? Are you okay?" Tails asked. I paid no mind to him as I listened for the whispering again… nothing… "Yeah… I-I'm fine…" I replied absentmindedly. I heard the fox sigh and say, "Well, It's getting late… We should probably get in bed." "Yeah," I agreed, yawning. "Hey, where're you sleeping tonight?" Tails asked me. I shrugged. "Um, you could take my bed, I'll just make a pallet and-" "No, you sleep in your own bed. I'll find somewhere else," I smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. "Alright… Just let me know if you need anything…"

(Tails' P.O.V.)

I woke up the next morning with the sun, and my ears pricked to hear soft snoring coming from the left side of the room. I curiously got up and looked in the corner to see none other than Sonic curled up. His ear twitched in his sleep, and he occasionally kicked his leg a bit. I looked at him in worry, and I sat down beside him. I studied him really close until I noticed multiple places on his back where the fur was shorter. It was in lines, and they all seemed to stream down his hide like a river. I carefully touched the area, but Sonic winced in his sleep, and I heard him whine… I guess whatever it was still hurt…

"Tails?" I jumped when I suddenly heard the hedgehog's voice. "Yeah?" "Why- why did you stay with me?" "What do you mean?" He then sat up and looked at me, there was a mixture of emotions in his eyes, and he looked tired. "When I found you… Why did you stay with me?" I stared at him, bewildered by the sudden question. "What made you ask that?" I questioned. "It's just; when you're around me you're constantly in danger… Doesn't it scare you?" He asked. "I'm never scared as long as you're around…" I told him truthfully. "What if… What if I'm not there? Would you be scared then?" He pressed. "No-… Well, it depends on the situation… Why?" I asked. Sonic suddenly looked at me uncomfortably. His eyes dulled for a second, but he quickly shook his head and replied, "Just wondering…" Then, he stood up and said, "So, what do ya' wanna do today?"

"Brotime?" "Brotime," He winked at me, and we both went downstairs. "So… what did they feed you when you were at that place?" I asked carefully. He stopped for a second on the stairs, and I almost ran into him. Then, he turned his head and told me quietly, "My food wasn't given… It was earned…" Sonic then continued down the stairs, and I was left a little bit shaken by the answer. "What do you mean?" I pressed. "You know what Tails? Sometimes it's best not to ask so many questions!" He snapped. I recoiled at the sudden outburst, and looked down, avoiding his gaze. I heard him sigh, and continue down the stairs; when I made it to the bottom I saw Sonic talking to Knuckles and Amy.

"I have to get back to my island, see ya," Knuckles was saying. "You're leaving already?" I asked. "Yeah, who else's gonna guard the master emerald?" The echidna then waved, and walked out of the door. "Hey Sonic, I just realized something…" Amy suddenly said. "Hm?" "Since you've been home, you haven't gone on a run like you usually do…" she pointed out. "Yeah, I noticed that too," I agreed. "I-I… I just um…" He stopped and took a deep breath, "I just don't feel like running…" With that, he left the room, leaving Amy and I downright confused. _Sonic_ not going on a _run_?! Okay, something's not right…

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

I went into the bathroom, feeling the need to go, but when I looked at the toilet, I realized I'd forgotten how to use it… "Hmm…" I have to sit on the bowl thing, I knew that much… but… once I went, how would you make the water clean again? _"This… is going to be a long day…"_

After about ten minutes, I learned that the little handle thing made the water swirl down the bowl, and it refilled with new water. I wonder where it goes…

I jumped when I heard someone knock on the door of the bathroom, so I went and opened it to see Tails. "I was gonna ask why you took so long but- never mind… Uh, Chuck and I need you in the lab for a little bit, is that okay?" He asked. I just blinked at him and asked, "'_Lab_'?" "Y'know, the place where we make stuff." "Oh…" I followed him outside and into the place where he kept his plane, and he told me to sit on a metal table. "Why?" "Just do it…" He told me. I looked at him suspiciously, but I got on the table anyways. "Good to see you're awake, Sonic," I snapped my head around to see Chuck. One of his hands was behind his back, and I grew a little nervous. "What's in your hand?" I asked abruptly. "Oh, nothing…" "…You're lying…" Chuck looked at me, bewildered. I have never, _ever_, confronted any of my friends like that. He must think that I'm in a mood… Which, I kind of was.

The man sighed and my pupils shrunk two sizes when I saw him bring out a syringe. All I saw was the needle and I freaked; I failed to notice that there was nothing _inside_ of the syringe, though… "I'm just taking a blood test. Just to see what-" "Touch me with that, and you'll lose your fingers!" I interrupted. "Sonic, I just-" "_No_!" "I just need to-" "_No!_" "-take a blood test!" "What part of _'no'_ do you not understand?!" I yelled. I suddenly yelped in surprise when Tails pinned me to the table on my back. "Wh-what're you-?!" "Sonic, all he needs is a blood test. No poison, no drug, just a simple little needle. It won't hurt," He told me.

I winced when he pushed harder on my chest. I quickly moved his hands away and blocked my abdomen. "Sonic, all we need is a little-!" "It _hurts_, okay?! And you just practically ran a knife through it!" "Through _what_?!" I glared at him as I moved my arms, and his eyes widened in shock as he gazed at my scarred chest and belly. The cut ran from the area of my heart all the way down to my right thigh. "H-How did I never _notice_ that before?" Tails asked aloud.

I rolled my eyes, but ended up yelping when I felt something cold touch my arm. Before I knew it, Chuck had a needle full of brown-red blood. "I can already tell that this is not good…" Chuck observed, motioning to the brown shade of the color. "It'll take a minute for the computer to scan it, so in the meantime-" The man explained, while injecting my blood into a little machine, "open your mouth."

"_What?_" "I noticed that your teeth look dog-like. That's not normal for a hedgehog. So, open up," He explained, while pulling out a tiny mirror and a little metal piece. I reluctantly opened my mouth, but as Chuck neared me, his face crumpled in disgust. "When's the last time you brushed your teeth?" He exclaimed, holding his nose. I shrugged and told him, "About three months…" "Right… sorry…" He looked inside my mouth anyways, and a wave of worry engulfed me when I suddenly remembered something… Something I didn't want Chuck to see. My worry turned into a reality as Chuck froze and asked, "Why are there blood stains on your teeth?" I closed my mouth, making him remove his hand, and said, "I-I don't know what you're talking about…" I looked down in shame; I hated lying, it made my skin crawl and my throat dry.

I heard Chuck sigh and tell me, "Sonic, there are blood stains on your teeth—your _canine_ teeth. It's from the tournaments, isn't it?" I looked down. I stared at nothing, letting my vision blur as I daydreamed. I pictured the night I'd gotten too carried away with a fight against a leopard. I had torn its poor body to pieces, and eaten my prize after it was dead. The memory made my stomach queasy and sick, and I didn't feel like talking about it.

"Sonic," Chuck's voice brought me out of my thoughts, but I refused to look at him. "What?" I asked irritably. My voice was hushed. The man sighed, as he turned to his little machine. It made a weird _'ding'_ and I looked at it curiously. Chuck pulled out the syringe, and numerous little symbols appeared on a screen above the machine. "Tails, take a look at this…" I had to prick my ears to hear him, and even then it was almost inaudible. The fox went up to the screen, and starting reading. Although he didn't show it, I could feel utter panic and worry coming from him. It hit me like a wave, and I asked, "What is it?"

"Sonic, do you remember how to read?" Chuck suddenly asked me. I blinked at him, "Uh…" "How about work a microwave?" "I-I-" "Ride a bike?" "N-not really…" I confessed. Chuck sighed, as he turned around to face me. "Sonic, whatever those people kept injecting in you is affecting how you think. The chemicals inside of the serum they used are going straight to your brain. I don't know all the symptoms of the chemical but-" He stopped when he saw my utterly confused face.

"Here's what I heard: 'Sonic, you can't understand a word I'm saying because the words I'm using are so science-y that not even Eggman could understand them.'" I told him, irritated. "This is not the time for jokes, Sonic! This is _serious_! If we don't-" "Chuck, I think it's best we don't tell him yet…" Tails interrupted suddenly. The man sighed and replied, "Alright, alright…" He turned to me and added, "Why don't you go for a run? That usually-" "_No!_" Chuck and Tails jumped at my outburst, and I quickly tried to cover it up. "I-I mean… Um… Wh-why go for a run, when I just got back? I-I'm gonna go find Amy now…" I quickly told them, as I walked out of the garage with haste.

Once I was outside, I looked around slowly as I made my way to the house. It was cloudy outside, setting the chance of rain pretty high. The grayness of the clouds seemed to have an effect on how I judged things. The bushes by the house suddenly seemed ominous, as did the water hose and the stairs to the house. Everything seemed so… so creepy… Even the grass altered to the look of green needles reaching up for me. The water fountain in the driveway looked like a living water monster, and the sky itself looked like it wanted to suck me inside of its endless gray covering. I quickly shook my head, and sped walked into the mansion. I stopped at the door as a quick, but familiar pain shot through my leg, and I winced.

Once it stopped I entered the over-sized home, and I took a deep breath through my nose to pick up the scent of Amy. I followed the trail into the living room, and I saw her sitting on the couch, munching on something inside a little bag. "Hey." Amy snapped her head around in surprise, and once she realized it was me, she smiled. "Hey!" she replied cheerfully, "What's up?" I blinked at her, confused, and said unsurely, "Uh- th-the sky?" "No, silly, I meant how're ya doing?" She tried again. "Good…" I walked over to the couch and sat down a little ways from her.

"What'cha doin'?" I asked. "Oh, just watching a movie… It's pretty good so far," Amy explained. "What's it called?" "_'Taken'_; it's about a girl and her friend who go to a different country, but get kidnapped by this one guy, and now the dad is fighting to save her. So far the girl's friend got drugged too much, and she died. But despite that I don't know what will happen now," She told me. I looked at her in shock, "Wh-who'd make a movie like that?!" I exclaimed. "What do you mean?" Amy asked; I saw concern in her eyes. "Ab-about someone getting kidnapped! Most people don't even get rescued! Why- why would someone-?!" "Sonic, calm down, it's just a movie," Amy interrupted.

I sunk back into the couch, taking a deep breath, clenching my fist behind my back so Amy couldn't see. "_Sorry_, I just…" I looked away and unclenched my fist. I looked down at my hands to see that my claws had worked their way out of my fingertips, so I hid them again inside my fur. "Sonic, are you okay?" Amy asked me softly. "I'm fine…" I snapped. "Sonic, what's bugging you?" Amy pursued. My ear twitched as I glanced back at her. I sighed deeply as Amy turned the movie off; she had her full attention on me now, and I wouldn't be able to get out of her gaze.

"I just… got some things on my mind…" I told her, just above a whisper. "Like what?" Her jade eyes burned into mine, and I subconsciously flattened my ears to my head; a sign that I was feeling off. My claws flexed in and out, causing them to prick the couch and make tiny holes. I developed this stress-relief when my claws started getting sharp enough to cut things, which was a long time ago. "Sonic…" Amy grabbed my attention again, and I looked at her. "What's wrong? You can always talk to me…" she persuaded. "I-I…" I cleared my throat, for a second, trying to get my thoughts together. "I just don't-… _Augh_, talking is so _hard!_" I suddenly slammed my fist against the back of the couch, and I heard something crack inside of the furniture.

"It's hard for you to get used to living out of a cage again… I understand…" Amy suddenly put her hand on my shoulder. Those words hit home… I looked over at her as I realized she was right. "I… I-I don't know what to do… I-I almost f-forgot you, and ev-everyone else… I-… I forgot how to live, Amy… I-I-" I was breaking down, she could tell. "Sonic…" She whispered, her voice coated in sympathy. My eyes started to swell with tears; I tried holding them back, but to no avail… Amy suddenly held her arms open, and I fell into her chest, hugging her tight as if all my worries would go away if I never let go.

"It's gonna be okay…" Amy whispered, "I promise…" That made the dam burst; the tears soaked through Amy's dress, and drenched her neck as well as her chest. I felt her slowly lean against the back of the couch, and she rested her head on the top of mine. My back hitched up and down in between my sobs, and I felt Amy gently start stroking the back of my head. After a while, I calmed down enough to doze off, but tears still rolled down my face. Just before sleep decided to take me over, I heard Amy whisper:

"_…I promise…_"

…And that's when a loud boom of thunder erupted from outside… I yelped and started trembling uncontrollably, hugging Amy tight. "_Sonic…_" Amy whispered. She then hugged me tighter, and together we sat through the storm, listening to the deafening roars of thunder.


	5. Chapter 4

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

I woke up the next morning feeling nauseous, finding myself slightly dizzy. My stomach suddenly lurched, and I clenched my eyes shut. I suddenly heard Amy's breathing, and I sat still, trying not to wake her up. I started to feel cold, and it caused me to shiver slightly. My stomach started to ache with pain, and I inwardly whined. The room temperature then suddenly plummeted, and I found myself trying to curl up into a ball. My stomach suddenly lurched again, and I accidentally whined a bit loud. "Sonic?" I heard Amy's slurred, tired, voice.

I tried saying something, but all that came out was a choked whine. "Sonic?" Amy asked, more wake and concerned. I felt her sit up, lifting me with her, as my head was on her chest. "Sonic, what's wrong?" She asked. "N-nothing... I-I-I'm f-f-fine..." I stuttered through chattering teeth and a quivering lip. "Sonic, seriously, what's the matter?" Amy asked again. "I-I t-told you... I-I'm f-f-fi-" I was cut off when my stomach gave a giant heave, and my insides shot up my throat. I bent over the couch to release my contents, coughing and hacking. "Uh-! _Chuck_!" Amy yelled. "What is the matter-? Oh my!" My ears picked up the sound of Ella's voice.

"Amy, go find Chuck, I will help calm Sonic down," Ella told her. My puking stopped for a full twenty seconds before it started again. "H-h-h-hurts..." I whispered, "H-h-hurts..." I suddenly felt something rubbing my back gently, and I heard Ella trying to soothe me. She carefully sat me up against the back of the couch once I was done vomiting. However, I was trembling uncontrollably. I curled up against Ella for warmth as my head started pounding. Ella bundled me up in her arms, yet I still felt ice cold.

"In here!" I heard Amy rushing back in the living room. "Wh-what's going on down here?" My ears pricked to hear Chris' tired voice. "Go back upstairs," I heard Chuck snap, "and keep Cream and Cheese up there if they wake up, too." I didn't hear a reply from the child as he numbly went back up the staircase. "Sonic, look at me..." Chuck commanded. I slowly lifted my head from the depths of Ella's apron, and made Chuck's figure out through my hazy vision. He placed a hand on my forehead; his hand was so warm... "He's burning up," Chuck said. "N-n-n-no... I-I'm f-f-fr-freezing..." I argued weakly.

"Chills... Nausea... Dizziness... Hmm... Sonic, how often did those people drug you?" Chuck suddenly asked. "E-every _d-day_..." I replied. "I bet you're having withdrawal symptoms..." Chuck concluded. "Withdrawal symptoms?" Amy echoed. "When someone has been addicted, or using a drug too much, the body can't handle not having it anymore, so it goes into a type of panic. Sonic said he was drugged every day, so his body eventually got used to it, and now that it's no longer in him, his body can't handle it," Chuck explained. "Oh... Well, what are all of the symptoms?" Amy questioned. "Well, it depends... Usually dizziness, nausea, chills, fever, and hallucinations..." Chuck replied.

"Sonic, darling, is your tummy feeling better?" Ella asked softly. I nodded. "Would you like me to make you a yummy breakfast after I clean you up?" She asked. I nodded. "Okay, c'mon, then," She smiled. Ella then cradled my shivering body in her arms and headed towards the bathroom. This would hurt my pride later, but right now I couldn't so much as say anything coherent in this state. After Ella got all of the slop off of me, I managed to stand up; but I had to lean on something. I shakily walked down the hallway with Ella in tow. I was leaning heavily on the wall, and even then I lost my balance from time to time. Once we came to the stairs, I saw how far down it was, and fear that I would fall down the staircase took me. "E-E-El-la-la-la?" I stuttered. "Yes, dear?" She replied.

"S-st-st-sta-air-airs..." "Oh, would you like me to help you?" Ella suggested. I nodded nervously to her, and she took my hand. I gripped it tight, as we made our way down the seemingly endless path of stairs. Once we finally made it to the bottom, I sighed in relief. "Th-th-thank-k-k y-y-you..." I told her. "No problem, darling," Ella smiled. She helped me back into the living room, where she put me on the couch and gave me a blanket. I watched as she cleaned up my vomit, and my ears lowered in shame. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-sor-ra-ra-ry, El-la-la-la-la…." I told her. "Don't be, Sonic. You could not help it, dear, it's quite alright…" Ella smiled. I gave her a small smile and pulled the blanket closer to me. "Sonic?" I turned my head to see Tails, Chris, Amy, Cream, and Cheese. "Hey, I see you're feeling a little better," Chris smiled. I nodded to him with a soft smile.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Mr. Sonic, Cheese and I were worried about you!" Cream exclaimed, running up to me. I gave her a warm smile, reaching out a trembling hand to wipe a tear that trickled down her face. "Who is hungry?" Ella suddenly asked. "Me!" Everyone exclaimed. "What about you, Sonic?" Ella asked softly. I nodded to her, smiling. "Alright, then! I will get started," The maid giggled, walking into the kitchen. I pulled my blanket closer to me, as the room temperature continued to drop. I looked over when I felt someone sit beside me, and found that it was Amy. I smiled at her, despite my pounding head and freezing body. She reached up a hand, petting my head gently, and I couldn't help but lean against the back of the couch and close my eyes in pleasure.

My nose twitched when I suddenly smelled bacon and pancakes. My mouth started to water, and my stomach growled hungrily. "L-l-let's-s g-g-go eat-t-t," I said, getting off the couch shakily. "Be careful, Sonic. You're still a little unsteady," Tails told me. "I'l-l-l be f-f-fine," I insisted, walking into the dining room. I sat in the cushioned chair as everyone else followed suit. "Breakfast is ready," Ella sang, carrying multiple plates balanced from her hands to her shoulders. She set a plate of crispy bacon and buttery, syrup covered, pancakes in front of me, and I grabbed my fork. I stuck it in one of the pancakes and tried to stick the whole thing in my mouth. Unfortunately, I ended up getting syrup on half of my face.

Not knowing what else to do, I started licking the sides of my mouth irritably. "Uh, Sonic, need some help?" Chris asked, chuckling. I shrugged in response, concentrating on the sticky substance on my face. I froze in surprise when something rough, wet, and dark covered my face. It rubbed all of the sticky substance off of my muzzle, but it made my face feel raw. I irritably shoved the rag off of my face, looking up to find Ella. She giggled at me and I started to feel embarrassed. My ears pressed against my head and I suddenly didn't feel hungry as everyone else started giggling with her. I shakily got off the chair and quickly walked back into the living room, taking wobbly steps. "Sonic?" My ear swiveled backward to hear Tails' voice, but I continued to the couch. I climbed on top of it and bundled up in the light blue blanket.

"Hey, aren't you hungry?" I suddenly looked over to see Tails and I shook my head. "But you were the one who wanted breakfast in the first place," Tails replied, sitting beside me. "N-not hungry..." I muttered. "Is your stomach still upset?" The fox asked. I shrugged at him. "Let's watch some T.V.," Tails suggested, picking up the remote. He flipped through the channels until he caught the word "Sonic" and flipped back a few channels. "The search for our beloved, speedy blue hedgehog comes to a close. I'm here with Chuck Thorndyke himself as he explains how Sonic came to be found," the reporter exclaimed. "It's simple, really," Chuck explained, "He got lost in the desert on a run and got stuck under an avalanche of rocks in the Grand Canyon. When we found him he was half-starved and dehydrated. He's still a bit shaken but he's perfectly fine." "He's lying..." I whispered. "What?" Tails asked me, "He can't exactly say that your weak, that'll make every criminal in the city go crazy." "I know... but he's hiding something... and so are you..." I muttered. He sat silently.

"Mr. Sonic! Mr. Sonic, look what I found!" I jumped a bit when Cream and Cheese suddenly burst in the living room. In the little rabbit's hands was a pure white flower. "A white rose…" I said quietly, "It's beautiful, Cream." Cream gave me the sweetest smile and sat the rose right behind my ripped ear. I laughed softly and asked, "You're giving it to me?" "Yes. I remember when you said how much you liked the smell of flowers, so when I saw that rose I thought you might like it," Cream explained. "I love it, thank you, Cream," I said, smiling at her. She smiled right back.

"Oh, Cream! There you are!" Ella suddenly came in. She bent down and whispered something in the rabbit's ear, and Cream's eyes lit up. "Oh, I would love to!" She exclaimed. "C'mon, then!" The maid then guided Cream and Cheese to the kitchen. When they were gone I took the rose out of my quills and examined it. I sniffed its inside and smiled. Cream was right. It DID smell wonderful.

"Sonic… I… I have to show you something…" Tails suddenly told me. "Sure thing, just let me find somewhere to put this, first," I said, getting off the couch and walking upstairs. "Want me to help?" Tails asked, following me. "Sure," I replied.

Tails never got the chance to 'show me something.' After we'd picked a vase for the white rose, Amy claimed to have seen someone snooping around the outside of the Thorndyke property. After being told to stay in the basement with Cream, Cheese, Chris and Amy, I was starting to grow bored. And fast. "Why do I have to be down here, too?" I whined, "I should be out there, helping the others!" "You're still a little weak from this morning. Why don't you rest to pass the time?" Chris suggested. "But I'm not tired," I argued, standing up and pacing around the room. Amy rolled her eyes in amusement and said, "Don't worry, Chris, I'm sure he'll eventually get drowsy." "You think so…?" Cream asked. "I'm positive." "What do you mean?" I questioned. "Chuck told me to sneak you some medicine right before they left. Remember that tea earlier…? Yeah, it was loaded with ZzzQuil. Chuck said you'd eventually go stir-crazy, and he didn't want you doing anything stupid in this state," Amy explained.

"That's not even fair! What if something happens and they need me out there?!" I stamped my foot on the ground.

"We can take care of ourselves, Sonic." Amy replied coolly.

"But-"

"No buts! You are staying down here to rest!"

"…"

"That's what I thought. Now lay down, you should be dozing off any minute now."

I stuck my tongue out at her childishly and plopped down on the spare couch. I lay with my hands behind my head that was resting on the arm of the couch. "Hey, Sonic?" Chris asked. "Yeah?" "I don't mean to be rude… but… How come you haven't gone on a run lately? I mean, usually if you don't go for a run in two days you're gone for hours… But you haven't gone out once. How come?" He questioned. "I… um…" I stuttered, "I just, uh… Don't feel like running… I guess…" "…Oh…" Chris replied, unconvinced.

"It's your leg, isn't it?" Amy suddenly asked.

"Wh-what-?"

"Your leg. It hurts, doesn't it?"

I sat silently, avoiding her gaze. "How'd you know…?" I finally replied.

"I've seen you limp and flinch when you walk lately. How did it happen…?"

"…Remember that bear…?" I asked slowly, "The bear that attacked us in the cave…?"

"Yes."

"Well, I had to fight him in the tournaments a few times...He stomped on my… on my leg a while back, and now… It… I-It…" My eyes were growing heavy, and my voice was starting to gain a drowsy slowness. "…Hurts…" Then, everything faded black.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

I gently laid a blanket over Sonic as his last word barley escaped his mouth. I moved his hands out from behind him so that he wouldn't wake up with a sore neck, and slipped a pillow beneath his head. When Chuck and the others came back, we left Sonic down in the basement and turned out the lights to let him sleep, but little did we know that would be the cause of a heart-stopping scene.

(Tails' P.O.V.)

I jolted awake when a terrified scream echoed throughout the mansion in the middle of the night. I rocketed out of bed and out of my room. I heard the scream again, and this time everyone else joined me as we raced down the stairs. Chuck, Amy, Chris, Tanaka, Ella and I burst into the basement to hear another bloodcurdling scream. We all looked around frantically, wide awake. I flipped the lights on, making everyone flinch from the sudden light. When my eyes refocused, I looked to the couch Sonic was supposed to be sleeping on, and saw a petrified blue hedgehog. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was trembling harder than I've ever seen. He was clutching his blanket in sweaty palms, pulling it tighter and tighter around his frail body.

"D-don't-t l-let th-them t-t-take m-me!" Sonic hiccuped, "D-don't let th-them t-ta-take me aga-he-hen!" I made my way over to him and pulled him into a hug. He tensed at first, but after realizing it was me, he buried his tear-soaked muzzle in my shoulder and started bawling his eyes out. "Shhh… Hush, Sonic, it's alright… I'm right here…" I cooed, rubbing his back. His back hitched up and down so much that I thought his wounds would open up again. "It was just a nightmare, Sonic… You're okay…" I whispered. "I will make him some tea to help calm him…" Ella suggested, going upstairs. I nodded in acknowledgement and continued to soothe my brother. I glanced at Amy to see her holding back tears, while Chuck seemed to be in deep thought. Tanaka offered to fetch new blankets that weren't drenched in sweat, and he went back upstairs also.

"Hey, Sonic…" I whispered, gently lifting his head up so that he could look at me. His face was a deep red, and his eyes were pink and puffy; his ears were also pinkish as well. The hedgehog was still shedding a tear here and there, but was doing a fair job at calming himself. "Whatever you just dreamt about wasn't real… I'll never, EVER let those people lay a finger on you again. I promise…" I wrapped him into another hug before he could object, and he squeezed me in response. I told Amy to turn the main light off, allowing only the dim light of the staircase to cast over the entrance of the room. Just enough to see. "Why don't you try to go back to sleep?" I suggested softly, "I'll be right here with you…" Sonic nodded in response, already starting to doze off again.

I should've never fallen asleep beside him. I should've never rolled away from him when he tried to cuddle against me. I should've never told Ella to put more ZzzQuil in his tea. I should've seen it coming. _I should've, I should've, I_ **_should've_**_!_

**_"Sooooniiiic!"_**


	6. Chapter 5

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

"**_STOP THAT TRUCK_**!" Tails screamed. Tires screeching down the road and the loud roar of an engine could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

Tails charged up the stairs of the basement and through the living room, screaming, "_**GET UP! THEY TOOK HIM! HE'S GONE**_!" The fox burst into the garage and jumped into his precious plane. But it didn't seem near as rare at the moment. In a matter of minutes, the X-Tornado was speeding down the runway and up into the air. Tails flew only twenty feet above the black van, and a microscopic device launched from the bottom of the plane. It attached itself to the roof of the van, and Tails suddenly whipped his jet around and sped back to the mansion.

When the fox landed back in the runway, everyone ran up to the jet.

"Tails, what's going on?!" Chuck exclaimed.

"Th-they-! He-he's-! _HE'S GONE_! W-we gotta go! We gotta-!" Tails stuttered.

Immediately, it clicked.

"_THEY TOOK SONIC_?!" Amy yelled, shocked.

"Yes! I-I put a tracking device on the van! W-we can follow them!" Tails explained breathlessly.

"Let's leave immediately. Amy, Chris; you're coming along. Let's go!" Chuck ordered, climbing into the plane, "Tails, contact Knuckles and tell him to get his tail down here! The signal of the tracking device should reach his wristwatch as well as ours." "Right!"

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

"Oh, Sonic… Wake up…" I felt something prodding my side; something hard and made of leather. "Wake up, Sonic…" Something tapped my side a bit harder. "I said, _get up_!"

I yelped in surprise and pain when something hard struck my side. I rolled over and sat up instantly, trying to clear the last bits of sleep from my head. "Glad you're awake."

When I looked up to see the face that had kicked me, I instinctively started growling. But then I registered the face of James. I froze as soon as I saw those ice blue eyes, inwardly praying that this was just another dream. When he took a step towards me I tensed and pinned my ears to my head.

"_J-james_…" I whispered.

"Ah! I see you remember me!" James told me with a bit too much enthusiasm. "I told you I'd be back, did I not?" The man seemed too proper to be a well-fit muscle man, yet he was wearing a brand new suit and tie, as if he were going to a business meeting. I risked a glance at my surroundings and found myself in an arena. Again. The floor was a rough, peach, cement. The walls stretched to twenty feet, and the size of the room was about half the size of a football field.

"Wh-where am I…?" I squeaked.

"In my new stadium, of course! That canyon was getting a bit too hot for my liking, so I decided to move to a much more stable area, temperature wise. Anyways, I've been looking forward to seeing you again. The next tournament is coming up, and we can't have you getting soft. So, I've asked my very best scientists to whip up the most crazy thing I've ever thought of! You would not believe how hard it was to convince them to make it, but nothing a few simple… '_cuts of the budget_,' couldn't handle," James informed me calmly.

Something about his sly smile made me think it wasn't just money he was talking about. "Wh-what're you gonna do with me…?" I stuttered.

"Oh, don't you worry you're pretty little blue tail about that! I'm going to take _good_ care of you…" The black haired man slowly strutted over to me with his hands behind his back, and he knelt down in front of me. Thinking he was going to inject me with something, I screwed my eyes shut and hoped it wouldn't hurt. Shockingly, he just ran his hand along the top of my head. After about five minutes I found myself loosening up a bit, and a finally opened my eyes to see an actual soft and sincere smile on his face.

"I-I don't understand…" I sputtered as he continued to stoke my head.

"You don't have to. All you have to know is that I am your master. I will punish you when needed, and I will reward you when I feel you need a bit of comforting. This is not the first time, my dear pet, that we have gone over this. I will always find you no matter where you go. I will always know you're weaknesses. And I know that this happens to be one of them…" James suddenly started massaging my ear, and I couldn't help but to purr in pleasure.

"_However_…" I froze when his voice abruptly turned ice cold. "You disobeyed me when you _willingly_ left with the other freaks of your kind!" I was knocked across the arena by a hard smack of the hand; dazed, I lay on the floor, trying to figure out what just happened. I got up on two feet and glared at James, dusting off my shoulders.

"I see you've grown a bit too cocky for my liking, _pet_," James noted, "I'll have to teach you to respect me better, now won't I?" The blue-eyed man suddenly made a clicking noise with his mouth, and I immediately tensed up. A loud roar suddenly erupted from behind me, and before I could react, something rammed into me. After landing on the concrete ground, I opened my eyes to see Dagger. The grizzly looked… different… Foam was rolling off of its lips, its eyes were wide and crazed, and its pelt was… It was glowing! A faint green lit each and every hair on the bear's body. Its teeth and claws were also twice as long. I stared at it in awe, also noticing that its scarred eye was cleared up, as if it had never happened.

"What… What happened to it…?" I asked James, not taking my eyes off of the mutated bear.

"This, my pet, is what I asked my scientists to make. They made a serum that strengthens every sense, inflates every muscle, hardens every bone, and gives an irresistible hunger for blood," James cackled, "But enough of all this talk! Let the fight begin!" The black haired man held his hand up to the bear and walked over to me. He quickly pulled out a collar of some kind, and motioned for Dagger to come closer, and the bear pinned me to the ground with a paw easily. James snapped the collar around my neck and exited the arena. "Begin!"

Dagger suddenly stood on two legs and prepared to smash me into the ground, but I rolled away just as he came down. I stood up and curled my hands into fists, snarling. The grizzly roared a battle cry and charged at me, mouth open and prepared to bite down. I met him straight on, pulling my fist back and landing a hit on his snout. However, Dagger barley flinched as he barreled into me, smashing me under his giant stomach. Since I was on my stomach, I pushed myself up with my hands and feet. Shockingly, I lifted the bear enough to catch a breath, and I nipped his belly. Dagger yelped and jumped off of me. I bounded away on all fours, and stood straight back up once I saw Dagger looking around for me.

"Is that all you got?!" I taunted. The bear instantly turned and charged at me again, but I jumped out of the way. I landed two yards away from him, but he managed to swing a paw and knock me several feet away. Before I could stand back up, I felt pain explode in the same side that got injured in the canyon. I howled in pain as I looked to see Dagger digging his teeth into my side. Through the unbearable fire in my side, I turned and slashed the grizzly's face as many times as I could. Dagger finally let go, and I scrambled away as fast as I could, wincing in pain. I felt the bear's presence loom over me as I screwed my eyes shut, waiting for another blow.

"_**STOP****!**_" I jumped when I heard a voice scream. The sound of a small gun shooting multiple times was heard, and I curled into a tight ball to prevent further injures. Every sound that was made after that was roaring in my ears. The sound of a mad laughter was suddenly heard, and I looked to see James staring at me with cold, icy blue eyes. Grasping his arms behind his back were Knuckles and Chuck, and I saw Amy and Tails running over to me through blurry vision. I started to feel dizzy and I let my head fall to the ground again as the pain in my side started pounding through my body.

"Sonic… Sonic look at me…" A soft voice bounced around in my ears, and I opened heavy lids to see Amy on her knees beside me. She was tapping my face gently, while I caught a glimpse of Tails pulling out a bottle and gauze from a first aid kit.

"You'll never stop me now! His transformation is taking place as we speak!" James laughed triumphantly, "That venom that Dagger put inside of you will either kill you, or make you even more hideous than you already are!"

"Shut it!" Knuckles growled, knocking him upside the head, "We've already put your stupid pet to sleep, don't make us knock you out, too!"

"Go ahead! I don't care! Sonic will save me eventually!" James boomed, "He'll kill you all! He'll-" He was cut short when Knuckles hit him on the head again, and this time, he was knocked unconscious.

"Take him to the Tornado!" Tails ordered, "Then come back and help me, Chuck!"

I suddenly felt myself gasping for air, as my insides set fire. I screamed as every part of my body seemed to explode in pain. I clawed at the ground as the pain grew worse, clenching my teeth as I did so.

"Sonic, what's wrong?!" Amy exclaimed.

"It's the venom," Tails answered instantly, "We have to find a way to calm him down, or he'll die of too much blood loss! I can't treat his side with him thrashing like this!"

After a second, I felt a hand massaging my ears, and gradually lied still. My breathing was in quick gasps, and I started to choke on something in my throat. I coughed it up and saw spots of blood staining the floor inches in front of me. I whined as another wave of pain flowed through me, but I kept as still as I could while Tails cleaned my side, and once he wrapped gauze around my waist, he started soothing me as well. The fox rubbed my back, trying to hold back tears.

"What is it, Tails?" Amy asked, seeing the fox's heartbroken face.

"We were too late…" He whispered.

"Wh-what do you mean…? Sonic's fine, you just treated him!"

Tails shook his head, "It's not over… That venom will either change or kill him… We have to find the antidote before h-he…"The fox suddenly burst into tears, hiding his face behind his hands.

"D-don't think like that! Sonic'll live! H-he can get through this! Right Sonic?! S-sonic…?" When Amy looked at me expecting to see a determined smile, she saw a broken gaze staring at her. Dull green eyes looked straight into jade. "_Sonic_… Sonic, say something!" Amy suddenly exclaimed desperately.

"I-I…" I choked, "I-I'm _s-sor-ry_…"

Amy pounded the ground with a fist, tears now streaming down her cheeks as well.

"I'm here, what do you want me to do?" Chuck panted.

"Call the vet… and the police… make sure the antidote is found and that they keep Sonic stable…" Tails muttered, staring at me.

"Right," Chuck replied, running off again. "_I'm getting too old for this…_" He muttered. Amy then gently lifted my head and placed it on her knees, still stroking me. I gave her a soft smile, trying hard not to wince from the pain in my side. After about ten agonizing minutes, I heard sirens in the distance. They gradually got louder, so loud that I had to pin my ears to my head.

"Over here!" Tails suddenly yelled, waving his arms. Before I knew it, I was being lifted in the arms of a stranger, and I shot a terrified look over to Tails. He gave me a thumbs up, and I relaxed at once. I looked up to the kind face that was holding me, and saw a blonde-haired girl with dark green eyes. She smiled to me sweetly and placed me into her truck with a warm blanket. I was glad when Amy was able to ride to the hospital with me; I needed some comfort. I whimpered and crawled over to her with my blanket in the back seat of the pickup. I laid my head down in her lap and pressed the side of my muzzle against her stomach. She seemed surprised at first, but she started massaging my ear anyways.

I hated that metal table. It was cold. That blonde haired girl told me that her name was Jodie, and that I had to stay at the hospital for at least tonight and all day tomorrow. I wasn't thrilled at first, but when I saw all the other animals around me that were in almost a worse shape, I immediately wanted to stay and help each and every one of them. When it was finally time to get a check-up, Jodie carried me back to the metal table and gently laid me down. She checked my temperature and said I had a fever. She patched up all of my wounds the best she could and checked my heartbeat, which was way too fast for her liking. I just about bit her fingers off when she pulled out a syringe.

"It's only a blood sample!" Jodie exclaimed, "It won't hurt, I promise!"

"Touch me with that and I'll snap your wrist!" I snarled. The veterinarian seemed unfazed by my threats, and just glared at me defiantly. She set the syringe down on the counter and opened a drawer, pulling out a little stuffed animal. I cocked my head to the side when she handed the toy frog to me. I took it from her carefully, and unfortunately, I was dumb enough to sniff it. I started to feel incredibly drowsy, and I sneezed before I laid my head down on the table, unable to lift it back up as Jodie came towards me with the syringe again. She took a small blood sample and wordlessly took it out of the room. After she was gone, another girl with short brown hair came in and took off the gauze around my waist.

She disinfected the bear bite and wrapped fresh gauze around it, minding my other wounds as she did so. After that, Jodie came back in with a crestfallen look, and took me into a little hospital-like room.

"We had some of the doctors from the hospital downtown fix this up for you, since you technically need care just as a human does," Jodie explained. I nodded drowsily in understanding as she laid me down on the soft bed. She then picked up an oxygen mask and held it only a foot in front of my face.

"This'll make you sleep, but we need you unconscious so we can stitch up a few things," Jodie explained. I nodded in understanding and let her put the mask over my muzzle. Instantly, my eyes started to droop. I sighed tiredly as a wave of drowsiness washed over me, and the last thing I saw was Jodie's face before sleep settled into my body.

(Tails' P.O.V.)

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?! You're a doctor, _fix it_!" I blurted. Jodie fixed me with a hard stare and tried explaining more clearly.

"I _can't_ fix it if I don't have the antidote. You'll have to interrogate James and his workers to find it. Meanwhile, Sonic'll have to stay here; too much excitement could speed up the process of the venom and make him deteriorate quicker. I'll keep him as stable as possible, but in two weeks his state will be unpredictable…" Jodie told me. I lowered my head and clenched my fist, glancing at the closed door that separated Sonic from me.

"Can I see him before we go…?" I whispered.

"Of course, but he is asleep at the moment."

"May I go in, too?" Amy suddenly asked in a shaky voice. Jodie nodded and opened the door revealing an unconscious blue hedgehog on the far side of the room. I quietly walked over to him and sat in the chair right beside his bed. I squeezed his limp hand gently, as if it would somehow rouse him, but Sonic didn't move the slightest. "We'll save him…" Amy muttered.

'_He's done so much for us… and now it's our turn to return the favor…' _I thought,

'_Even if it means knocking down whoever gets in my way…'_


	7. Chapter 6

**TeamChaosHunters: Thanks!**

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**Kegger98 : There is such a thing called ****midgets.**

**Kegger98 : You do know that there's this thing called the media, right?**

**Kegger98 : Just stop and read the story. When its over you can criticize all you want. I'm only human.**

**ChronoTriggerMan: ^^**

**MorganFenton001: You're just all over the place arn't you? ^^**

**VFMH: Thanks! I hope you like this chapter as well!**

**thor94: I put Chris in the description instead of Chuck, because I figured that some people wouldn't be as familiar with him as they are Chuck. You follow me?**

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_**WARNING:**_

_**This chapter contains blood shed and killing. A lot of it. If you find that it's too much, tell me and if I get enough requests, I'll write a separate chapter for those who are too sensitive about it.**_

_**Now start reading ;)**_

* * *

_**When Something's Broken, Fix It…**_

_**Chapter 6**_

_**By: Soniclover28**_

"…So that's a yes?... Uh huh… Yeah… When should we be there?... Of course, but we have to find out where the other animals are, and track down James' little minions as well… Yes, but-… Oh, alright… Thank, you… Goodbye." Chuck hung up the phone, running a hand through his wiry gray hair. He sighed and placed his cell phone back inside his coat pocket, turning back to the hospital room door. He hesitantly turned the knob and stepped inside, catching the attention of an orange fox.

"So?" Tails asked expectantly.

"We're interrogating James at six-thirty. G.U.N. agreed to help, but they said they wanted something in return…"

"Like what?"

"A chaos emerald."

Tails sighed stressfully, glancing at the snoozing hedgehog beside him. "I guess it's not so bad… We can always get it back once Sonic gets better…" He pointed out hopefully.

"Right…" Chuck replied. The old man gazed at the beaten and scarred hedgehog, and sadness struck his heart. How would he tell Cream, Cheese and Chris that Sonic was going to change into a monster? He was sure that the hedgehog wasn't going to die from a single bite. He was tough enough to withstand it…Right…?

"Mmh…" Chuck was snapped out of his thoughts when Sonic had made a sound. One of his ears twitched slightly, and a tired green eye slid out from under a blue eyelid.

"I'll fetch the nurse and tell her that he's awake…"Chuck offered quietly, walking out the door again. Tails nodded subconsciously, his eyes glued to the rousing hedgehog.

"Hey, buddy…" Tails greeted softly. Slowly, Sonic's eyes focused on the fox, and even then his lids were still heavy. "How're you feeling?" Tails asked. Sonic blinked, unable to think straight and mumbled incoherent words at him. Tails smiled sadly, taking Sonic's hand and squeezing it softly. "Still tired, huh?" He laughed lightly.

"He will be for the most part…" Tails almost jumped when he heard Jodie's voice sound from the doorway. "We're keeping him sedated to keep the venom as inactive as possible. Rarely will he be understandable, or be able to understand things himself for now," Jodie explained softly. Tails looked at her, heartbroken.

"So, my own brother won't be able to understand what I'm saying…?" Tails' voice cracked. Jodie stood up straight and went and put a comforting hand on the fox's shoulder.

"Only for a little bit of time… Once you all find that antidote, it'll take some time, but he'll be good as new." The blonde told him encouragingly. Tails seemed to find some comfort in those words, and he looked back at his best friend.

"You're right, Jodie…" Tails finally answered, "All I have to do is believe in him."

"That's the spirit," Jodie smiled.

* * *

"I'm asking you one more time, _shiny-shoes!_ Where is that _darn_ antidote?!"

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about! I've never come in contact with anything like that!" The black haired man claimed. He was handcuffed behind his back, and was sitting at a black table between him and the commander.

"_Liar!_" Tails spat from behind the glass window.

"Calm yourself, fox. If he should not give us what we want, we will have to make him. I have better things to do than waste my time here, anyways," the ebony hedgehog mumbled. Tails crossed his arms in annoyance.

"I still can't believe that you agreed to help them, Shadow," A sly voice said, "After all, you hate Sonic's guts almost as much as Eggman does."

"I do, but the last thing we need is a monster running havoc in the city. I, for one, don't feel the need to-"

"Shadow!" Rouge elbowed him in the arm.

"What?" Shadow glared at her, not flinching from the small blow. Rouge motioned to Tails and Amy, who had been quiet this whole time, trying hard not to cry. Shadow's harsh look faltered for only a second before hardening again.

"_Shadow!"_ The Ultimate Life Form's head snapped up when the commander stomped out of the room with a beat red face. "Get in there and show that _weasel_ who's in charge here!" He ordered, pointing to the small room. Shadow nodded and stepped into the room, waiting for his chance to scare information out of the human.

"I'll give you one last chance, James! Tell us where the antidote for that serum is!" The commander burst. On cue, Shadow's fingers snapped, and chaos energy crackled around his hand, casting a green glow on everything.

James did not seem fazed. "I don't know what you're _talking _about! You're all lunatics! I've never even been to an animal fight! _Heck,_ I've never even been to a _rodeo!" _The blue-eyed man snapped.

"Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but Shadow, do your thing…" The commander smirked as Shadow lit his hand in green flames once more. The ebony hedgehog looked into James' eyes, and saw nothing but cold hatred in them. Rage shot through Shadow as the man spit at him, covering his arm in saliva. Instantly, Shadow planted his chaos-lit hand around James' neck, and relished the sound of his pained screaming. This went on for about fifteen seconds before Shadow was ordered to stop.

James' eyes were filled with tears of pain, his neck red and blistering from the intense burn. "Unless you want to relive that, you'll give us what we want!" The commander threatened.

"_N-never…!_" James choked.

"So, you _do _know where it is," James' eyes went wide as Shadow spoke. "Tell me now, or I will-"

"Kill me? That wouldn't do much to help you, now would it?" James interrupted with a forced smile. He screamed in agony again as Shadow repeated his earlier procedure on the man's right cheek.

"I wasn't _finished,_" Shadow replied flatly, "Tell me now or I will burn every inch of your body, and leave you to rot in prison. We have the evidence we need to confirm that you have indeed been mistreating animals. We also know that you are the one who threatened those two thieves that the police arrested months ago for stealing more than two million dollars, and then claiming to burn it. You are also going to be charged for murdering two people that worked for you."

James' eyes were wide, a few stray tears rolling down his cheeks. "H-how did you know...That I did all that… so _soon_…?" James panted. Shadow smirked in triumph.

"I didn't," He answered.

"Wh-…_What?" _James breathed in disbelief.

"That was just some information we got from one of your stupid minions. He told us everything, and in return, we only sentenced him to ten years in prison. We didn't believe some of the things he said, but you just confirmed that information." James' face was priceless. He looked down in disbelief.

'_Betrayed by my kind… Typical…' _James thought.

"Now, one last time before I burn you to ashes," Shadow continued, "_Where _is the antidote…?" His voice was unnaturally soft, and despite the heat flaring in his upper body, a chill went down James' spine.

"_Fine…_" James sighed in defeat, "It's… It's with Dr. Eggman…"

"_What…?" _Shadow cocked an eyebrow and the commander blinked in shock.

"Dr. Eggman… He was the one who started all of this… From shooting Sonic with that dart three months ago, to making the venom that runs through the hedgehog's veins at this moment…" James explained, "He threatened to kill me if I didn't do as he said…"

"How did you come in contact with the doctor?" Shadow asked, still not very convinced. That would explain all these insanely huge arenas Shadow had heard about, but… Threatening someone's life…? Sure, he did the same to Sonic, but the hedgehog would always take it as more of a challenge than a threat. It didn't sound like the mad scientist at all…

"I was hiking in the desert with my team… I used to be an archaeologist, until he came and interrupted me and the others. Dr. Eggman claimed that we were on his property, and threatened to kill us all, but we all started begging for mercy, and finally he just decided to keep us as his slaves…" James explained.

"What do you think, Project Shadow?" The commander asked. The Ultimate Life Form thought for a moment and shook his head.

"It doesn't sound like the doctor at all… Plus, what about that bit about killing your own scientists? Surely the doctor would like to make a poison with his _own_ hands if it were to possibly kill his greatest enemy," Shadow pointed out.

"Good point," The commander murmured. James stiffened, trying to think of something more to tell them. "Unless… You're lying to us…" The commander hissed.

"I-I _swear!_ It's the truth! Nothing but the truth!" James blurted nervously.

"…" The commander stared him down, and James smiled in relief when he finally said, "Fine."

But it disappeared when he said, "Since you won't _tell_ us the truth, we'll force it out of you. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Shadow, do as you please, but leave enough so that he may still give us information."

"Yes, Commander."

James' screams were music to Tails' ears.

* * *

"That was rather entertaining. I must do it more often," Shadow stated as he came out of the small interrogation room.

"Did you get any information on the antidote?" Tails asked immediately, ignoring the cries of suffering on the opposite side of the cement wall.

"There is no antidote," Shadow explained casually, "Yet."

"'_Yet?'_" Tails repeated.

"The antidote was unable to be prepared in time before James and his workers were arrested. The formula, however, is still in the old computers at James' House of Madness," Shadow said, "Rouge and I will be traveling there to gather all the information we can, and I've been ordered to take a rescue team to that canyon to save all of those pathetic animals."

"Sonic used to _be _one of those 'pathetic animals'," Tails growled, "Watch what you say."

"Or else what?" Shadow retorted.

"You'll deal with _me." _And with that, the fox sauntered out of the police station.

"Don't listen to him, Shadow," Amy apologized, "It's just the stress talking…"

"All is forgiven," The hedgehog replied, "I will report to you as soon as something comes up."

"Alright… Goodbye, and good luck, Shadow…"

"Farewell."

* * *

"Do you think Mister Sonic misses us?" Cream broke the silence at the dinner table for the first time in a long time. Everyone at the Thorndyke Mansion was starting to get used to the silences that occurred at most meals since Sonic's disappearance, especially since Sonic was put in the hospital over six days ago. Shadow had called and claimed to have the formula for the antidote, but it would take some time and testing to make. But who ever said they _had _time to play around…?

"Of course he does, dear…" Ella told her softly.

"I hope so… I really miss his hugs…" Cream sighed.

"And his jokes…" Chris smiled wistfully.

"Remember that time he got his head stuck in the cupboard when he was trying to get some hot dog buns?" Amy smiled, staring at her steak and potatoes.

"Ha-ha, yeah. I guess his head was so big; it just kind of made a perfect fit," Chris giggled.

"Choa-choa! Choa, choa, chaa!" Cheese suddenly exclaimed, smiling.

"Cheese said that Sonic always brought him the sweetest daisies when he was having a bad day," Cream laughed.

"I remember one time Sonic insisted on sleeping on the roof, and it was almost below freezing, and the next day he was sick with strep throat. I remember when you tried to give him his medicine, Ella, and we had to chase him through the whole house to force it down him," Amy chuckled.

Ella shook her head, smiling as well, "He was as stubborn as a bull! I had to promise him chilidogs for supper in order to get him to actually swallow it! But he fell asleep before I could make them."

Everyone was abruptly silenced as Tails stood and quickly walked out of the room, fists clenched.

"I'll go talk to him," Chuck said, standing as well. He walked outside and saw the kit sitting on the stairs that led up to the giant mansion. The night was warm while a cool summer breeze was felt blowing against the skin. "Ella worked hard on dinner," Chuck started, sitting down beside him, "You should go and eat."

"How can they joke at a time like this…?" Tails replied, ignoring Chuck's suggestion.

"They're just trying to keep everyone's spirits up, Tails," Chuck explained, "It's all they _can_ do at the moment…"

"I miss him so much…" Tails' voice cracked, and he looked up at Chuck with huge blue eyes.

"We all do…" Chuck sighed, putting his hand on the fox's shoulder, "But he'll be back running around in no time. Until then you should get some rest, you look pretty tired."

"I guess…" Tails shrugged, standing up and going back into the mansion.

* * *

_Brrr-ing—Bring! Brrr-ing—Bring! Brrr-ing—Bring! _Chuck irritably reached over and grabbed his phone off of his nightstand, and flipped it open. "Hello…?" Came his groggy greeting.

"C-come down here immediately! It's…" The voice paused. "I-It's happening! The… The hypnotics a-aren't keeping the venom st-stable any… any longer! I-I need your… h-help! He's- He's destroying _everything!"_ The voice cried; it sounded as if it were running.

"Who is this?" Chuck asked, still half asleep.

"_It's_ _Jodie…! Wake… Wake up and get your tail down here!"_ The veterinarian yelled in rage. "_**Please!**_"

"I-I'm coming! Keep him from getting out of that hospital! Don't let him-!" Chuck was wide awake when he got cut off by a terrified shriek, and the phone abruptly emitted a fizzing sound. "_Jodie!_" Chuck exclaimed. He rocketed out of bed and ran into the hallway, yelling for everyone to get up just as Tails had a few nights ago.

* * *

Sonic hissed as he wandered through the dark hallways of the hospital. He was about three times bigger than his original size; standing to five feet on four paw-like feet alone. His eyes were no longer a dull green, nor were they a vibrant emerald. They were now a piercing yellow; so bright that they illuminated his morphed face almost perfectly. Horns struck out all over his head, looking close to the jutting rock formations of a canyon. His ears were bigger and curved; his snout longer and torn from stretched skin. Sonic's teeth had quadrupled in size, almost like small, razor-sharp tusks, they were so long and thick. His talon-like claws made a slight '_click' _on the floor with every step he took, his hind feet more shaped wolf-like in the joints. However, nothing could compare to his backside. A long, fur covered, snake-like tail slid across the floor behind him, while the rock-hard, black, pointed tip tapped the ground every once in a while. But his shoulder blades… They were no longer protected by quills, but now, giant, blue wings folded neatly against his back. Another detail was able to be seen on the mutated hedgehog, though… Not a single scar, scratch or bruise was visible on his pelt, as if they'd all disappeared.

Sonic's bat-like ears swiveled in every direction for any sound that could have been emitted. Nothing… He continued down his path, able to see perfectly in the dark. In a panic during his transformation, he had burst out of his hospital room and punched, rammed, kicked, body slammed and bitten anything in his way. Including the electric box for half of the hospital. After that, doctors and other employees, as well as a few visitors, had evacuated the building in madness. Many had tried to be brave enough to get some of the animals free from their temporary enclosures, but Sonic wouldn't let them within twenty feet of them. Finally, he'd either killed or chased the rest away, and now he was patrolling the rest of the building.

Sonic's ears suddenly pricked to hear the sound of a feminine voice, and he picked up the scent of human. He licked his chops with a long, serpent-like tongue. Something of a wicked smile formed on the mutated hedgehog's face, and he flattened himself on the floor, preparing to stalk his new prey.

"C-come down here immediately!"

Sonic got closer to the voice.

"It's…" She saw him and sprinted away. "I-It's happening!"

"The… The hypnotics a-aren't keeping the venom st-stable any… any longer!"

Sonic gave chase.

"I-I need your… h-help!"

He was gaining.

"He's- He's destroying _everything!"_

Sonic got closer.

"_It's_ _Jodie…!" _The girl turned down a different hallway.

"_Wake… Wake up and get your tail down here!"_

Sonic unsheathed his claws.

"_**Please!**_"

Sonic bunched his muscles. The girl seemed to be panicking.

Sonic pounced.

A blonde haired girl lay in a crimson pool, dark green eyes glazed, and her hand hardly holding the phone she was carrying. Sonic nestled down beside her and ate his first meal of the night.

* * *

Sonic had busted the cage doors of all the animals that, in his mind, were trapped here by the humans. Most seemed to be injured or sick, but unfortunately, there was nothing Sonic could do for them but guard and protect them from any danger. The cats' fur bristled at the sight of him, the dogs arched their backs and bared their teeth, and the birds fluffed out their feathers and squawked madly. Sonic silenced them all when he flared his quills, planted his feet squarely on the ground, bared his own teeth, snarled, and opened his six-foot wide wings out to their full length.

Tired from his transformation, and drowsy from a full belly, Sonic curled up in a hospital room he had found with blankets galore, and dragged them all out of their shelves. He piled them up in the back of the room with his mouth, tearing some of the material, and curled up into a dog-like ball. He tucked his tail over his nose, and soon he was dropped into sleep.

It was about ten minutes later, however, when his sensitive ears pricked to hear a small whimpering sound. He lifted his giant head, and looked to see a lone puppy trembling in the doorway to the room he was in. Sonic felt warmth sneak into his chest, and he quietly walked over to the pup and took it by the scruff, careful not to penetrate its skin or channel any venom that ran through two valves on the roof of his mouth. He curled up with the shivering puppy and soon they both drifted off to sleep.

Sonic awoke yet again, when he heard other paw steps and tiny feet scuffling toward him. Some of the other animals had finally been brave enough to see if Sonic was kind. Almost every animal was soon curled up beside him, and the mutated hedgehog went and fetched the other sick animals that couldn't make it on their own. Soon, they were all snoozing in Sonic's giant pile of blankets while the moonlight shone down upon them from the window.

* * *

Tails was horrified.

Dead bodies littered the ground in almost every hallway, and to make things worse, it was pitch black. Chuck had woken them all up when he was yelling like a mad man in the mansion, and had explained everything Jodie had said to them breathlessly. From what Tails had learned, the venom in Sonic's body had finally beaten the hypnotics out of his system, and made Sonic mutate quickly and painfully. Tails suddenly heard dry heaving, and he whirled around to see Amy cupping her hand over her mouth while turning away from a stray head that had been torn off of a body.

"How could one hedgehog have done this…?" Rouge muttered nervously. Tails had called Rouge, Shadow and Knuckles for backup, and Chuck, Amy, and Chris, who practically begged to come, had tagged along as well.

"He's not the hedgehog we know anymore... He's something far more… _Monstrous_…" Shadow rumbled, glancing at the glazed eyes of small red haired girl.

"Where do you think he is…?" Amy asked, swallowing the last bit of vile that formed in her throat.

"First things first; we need to find Jodie and make sure she's okay. She could probably tell us where Sonic would be hiding. The police are outside in case we need backup, and G.U.N. offered to sneak the animals out," Chuck explained.

"How do you know there are other animals alive in here…?" Chris asked nervously.

"Just before we came in they already picked up many heat signatures from a certain room on the second floor, so G.U.N. is going to sneak them out while keep Sonic busy."

"What- What if he's saving those poor animals for snacks?!" Amy suddenly exclaimed childishly. Everyone deadpanned her. "Sorry… I-I'm just anxious… I-… We all can't think straight right now, so don't judge!"

"Right… This hospital has only two floors, though, so Sonic could sneak up on us quickly and easily. Watch your back and everyone else's, and above all; _do. Not. __**Scream**_," Knuckles told them, "The last thing we need is Sonic chasing us back out of here. Chaos _knows _what he could've turned into…"

"C-could… Could you maybe… Stop calling Sonic a monster…? I-It's not… It's not his fault that he ended up like this…" Everyone looked to see Tails desperately trying to hold back tears.

"Geez, sorry, kid…" Knuckles apologized sincerely. Tails just nodded and looked down.

* * *

Sonic's head shot up when he heard voices, knocking a sleeping cockatoo off of his head in the process. Sonic opened his mouth and tasted the air to pick up the scent of people and… animals but not animals… Curious and outraged that someone had dared trod on his territory, he carefully got up and poked his head out of the doorframe to the little room. He tasted the air again and headed to the stairs that led up to the second floor. Sonic's snake-like tail swished in excitement. He could finally find something other than a human to see, and possibly taste.

The mutated hedgehog's ears stood straight up when he suddenly heard the voices seem much closer now. He ducked behind a flipped over table on its side, and kept his ears pricked to try and decipher the voices. By the sound of it, there were seven of them. Two were humans. Sonic growled at the thought of their beady eyes glaring at him. Big mistake.

"D-did you just hear that…?" One of the voices squeaked.

"Y-yeah…" Another shook.

"It was probably nothing, Amy. Let's keep moving," A gruff voice said. They turned to come Sonic's way, and he pressed himself against the floor to try and stay hidden. If they saw him, they'd most likely try to chase him away and possibly hurt the other animals. He just _couldn't_ let that happen! They were getting closer, and Sonic held his breath to keep from making any noise. He froze up when one of them gasped and abruptly whirled towards him.

However, when he looked closer, it was a pink… thing… screwing its eyes shut and cupping its hands over its mouth. Sonic looked closer and saw a stream of light one of the humans were carrying shine on the half ripped-up body parts of the girl he'd eaten earlier.

"Y-you… You don't think th-that's…"

"It… It is…"

"_Jodie…_"

Now Sonic was confused. Why were these creatures upset about some stupid human…? Didn't they know how sick and twisted they were? Sonic squinted his eyes when he saw something roll off of the yellow creature's face, and when he saw it again he realized that the creature was crying. A pang of guilt hit the mutated hedgehog's chest, and he lowered his ears.

"We… We can come back for her later… We need to find Sonic right now…" One of the creatures mumbled sadly.

"Right…" Some of them said in unison.

"Too late," The black creature suddenly muttered.

"What?"

(Sonic's P.O.V.)

A sudden stream of light blinded me for a moment, and I rubbed my eyes with a paw while shocked gasps rang out around me. My fur bristled in rage, and I hissed when one of them came towards me. I stood back out of my crouching position and rose to my full height on all fours. I was only inches taller than the older human, but I was about two feet taller than the other little creatures. Their eyes widened at my size, and I snarled in warning at them.

"S-s-sonic-c-c…?" The yellow one stuttered. I hissed at him in response, drawing my lips back to show my razor sharp teeth and tusks.

"S-sonic i-it's me… T-tails…" The creature placed his hand on his chest to address himself. I looked him up and down, but didn't recognize him the least bit. I snarled when he reached a hand out toward me, and he flinched back.

"Careful, Tails, or he'll bite your hand off…" The red one warned.

"No, really?" The creature deadpanned.

"Just sayin'…"

My head snapped to the side, making some of them jump, and I heard a distant squeak. And then another, and another. Something was wrong with the animals… Barking was suddenly heard. I deciphered it quickly as a call for help, and I tried sprinting off towards the animals, but two of the creatures blocked my way. I gave a giant roar that sounded fiercer than a lion, but they didn't budge.

"Sorry, Sonic, but you're not hurting anyone, or anything else!" The red creature shouted, curling his fists in front of him. Catching the hint, I roared again and charged at them with my head down. However, I felt something knock me upside the head, and I stumbled forward, dazed. I swung my muscular tail around, and growled in triumph when I made contact with something, sending it through a wall.

"Knuckles!"

"Chaos _sphere!_" I yelped in pain when something like lightning struck my side. Instincts kicking in, and I dropped to the floor and held my breath, letting my eyes focus on nothing and hung my mouth open.

"Sonic!" I felt something touching my side, and I desperately fought the urge to breathe. "Shadow! What the _heck_ was that?!"

I took the smallest breath. The black one was watching my side.

"Get away from him, Tails! He's tricking you!"

"Huh…?"

Too late.

I swung a giant paw at the two-tailed animal, and before he could blink, I tore into the flesh on his arm. He screamed in pain and while his group checked on him, I sprinted away towards the small room all the animals were staying in. I roared when I saw four humans carrying animals out of the window in the back of the room. Most of the animals were gone, and only about eight were left. Make that seven.

Through red raged vision, I charged at the human with free hands and crushed his skull in my powerful jaws. The other three screamed in terror, dropped the animals they were holding, and rushed to get back to the window where a helicopter was waiting on them. However, just as the last one clambered out the window, I pounced on his leg and dragged him back in, ripping his legs with my claws.

"_Johnny!_"

"_No!_ Don't go back, he'll kill you!"

"That's my _brother!" _

I froze and dropped the human. I looked upon the torn body and half-conscious eyes. The human's skin was pale, and his lower body was covered in crimson and cuts. I sniffed him. I could tell he wasn't going to make it. I looked up with sorrow in my golden eyes, and the human in the helicopter froze when he saw my expression. Tears started streaming down his cheeks as I slit his brother's throat quickly. Yes, I had killed him on my own will, but only so he wouldn't suffer anymore…

"_Y-you…_" The soldier choked, "You killed my brother… _You killed him!_" The man suddenly lunged out of the helicopter and landed on me, since I was closer to the window. He tried in vain to hurt me, punching and kicking, but I simply stood on two legs, and crushed him beneath my back. I heard bones crack and snap, and when I got off of him, gray-blue, glazed eyes were staring back at me. At least now the two would be reunited…

I yelped when I suddenly felt something sting my wing, I hadn't realized I had opened them up. I looked to see something that resembled a needle, but a feather was on the other end of it. It was a tranquilizer. My wing started to feel numb, but I flicked the thing off with a clawed finger, and whirled to see one of the soldiers pointing a gun at me. I hissed at him and flared my quills, as well as my usable wing. He shot the gun again, and another dart lodged itself in my arm. I shook it off and stumbled as I found that I seemed just a tad bit heavier. Fearing what those things would do to me, I ran back into the darkness of the hallway, where I saw that pesky group again. I snarled as yet another dart made contact with my side, and I looked towards the doorway to see the soldier smirking.

I roared and shook the dizziness that started to form in my head away, stumbled to the side and leaned against the wall. I backed out of range of the soldier with the gun, but now I had seven pests to deal with. I turned tail and ran, stumbling over bodies and objects in the darkness, even though I could see perfectly.

"Here! Take this!" The voice was muffled through the own sound of blood roaring in my ears, and I glanced back with heavy eyes to see that one of the creatures was holding the same gun the soldier had. The black and red thing started charging at me with it, and pulled the trigger as many times as he could. Three hit my leg, two hit the place where my tail and rump met, and one skid past my back and pierced my neck. The world swayed. I tripped. I heard voices. Someone was crying. Someone was yelling. My eyes were heavy. They rolled into my head. Everything went black.

Everything.

* * *

**Me: OMG! LONGEST CHAPTER EVAH! :) so happah...**

**Sonic: DX Why you hate me?!**

**Me: I don't hate you. It's just entertaining to see you suffer. :D**

**Sonic: Bully!**

**Me: Sit.**

**Sonic: *Sits* No fair!**

**Me: I'm the author, so I'm the boss. Deal wit it. :3**

**Sonic: DX**

**Me: See ya in the next chap!**


	8. Chapter 7

_When Something's Broken, Fix It…_

_Chapter 7_

_By: Soniclover28_

_(Sonic's P.O.V.)_

My body ached and my ears were ringing. I tried opening my eyes but I felt too weak. I was dizzy and nauseous.

My wings hurt… My arms hurt… My legs hurt…

Everything hurt.

I tried in vain to tense up when I heard noises, and my ears gave the slightest twitch to the sounds. My nose burned from the smell of chemicals and humans. I groaned hoarsely and tried moving again, but still found that my body was unable to function properly.

I was finally waking up enough to process that whatever I was laying on was not the warm blankets I had last slept on.

_No. _

It was _definitely_ not blankets.

I finally gained enough sense to raise my heavy eyelids, only to close them again in pain. Wherever I was, it was very bright there. Blinking to adjust to the intense light, I looked around and saw different humans standing all around me. I tensed and my lip curled back into a snarl as I glared at the furless creatures. I tried standing, but my legs buckled and I fell to the ground again in exhaustion. Grunting from pain that seared through my head, I tried standing up again as the humans made a move to pull out something flat and start moving a little stick around on it. I arched my back and hissed at them, this time actually standing for about thirty seconds before collapsing again.

I lay there and rest for a moment before getting up one last time. I bunched up my muscles before they had a chance to give out once more, and I lunged at the humans standing only ten feet away. However, just as I came within inches of them, I hit something hard and stumbled back in shock. The action caused me to fall to my right as my limbs started aching again, and I just as I thought I'd land on a human, I pressed up against some sort of hard and thick barrier.

I was trapped.

As soon as I realized it, I roared in rage. Some of the humans jumped back as I did so, and I rammed into the barrier as hard as I could head-first. Expecting my horns to burst through the glass, I rammed it once again, but to no avail. I let out a startled breath, and lashed my tail in panic.

I was trapped.

I reared up on two legs, fear pumping my adrenaline, and slammed my front paws against the glass as hard as I could. Nothing happened. I spun around and swung my muscular tail to slap the glass.

I hawked up some of my venom in a last resort, and spat it at the glass. To my disappointment, the substance was a yellow color—meaning I was either unhealthy or too weak to form actual poison. Anger flooded through my system, and I screeched loudly as I reared up once again and hit the glass with everything I had.

Not a scratch.

I was trapped.

I wailed in despair; a sound that sounded foreign in my throat.

I was trapped.

I clenched my teeth in anger and defeat, lowering my head in shame and sadness.

_I was trapped. _

_(Tails' P.O.V.)_

I clenched my fists as the mutated hedgehog before me had finally showed his sign of giving up. My heart had lurched when Sonic had cried out in agony, as well as my two friends' hearts beside me. Amy was practically crying a river, and Chuck was shooing away the scientists that had started the animal's panic in the first place.

"Go! Can you not see that he's not going to move until he feels safe again?!" Chuck spat.

"But he is merely an animal. Surely he could not know what the true feeling of being sa-"

"That _'animal' _saved this world more times than you can count, and you have the _gall _to say he doesn't know the meaning of being _safe?!_ I think it's the idiots like you who _started_ this whole problem in the first place! It's not _his_ fault he's like this! He's scared! He's confused! For chaos' sake, _leave him alone!" _I burst.

The room cleared out pretty quickly after that.

"Um… I-if I may…" I whirled around to see another scientist standing at the doorway.

"_What?" _I snapped.

"I-I have a message from Project Shadow and Agent Rouge on the antidote for your friend," the man sputtered.

"Let's hear it," Chuck replied.

"Y-yes, of course…" The scientist nodded, pulling out a clipboard and flipping a few pages. "Here it is." I snatched the paper from him and read the letter.

'_Dear Fox and Friends,_

_The antidote is 88% complete. All we need is a bit of Sonic's blood and some of his venom. I wanted to ask your permission before doing this; we have to knock him out in order to get the venom. If we do it while Sonic's awake at all, he could spit the venom at us and give us serious injuries. When one of our scientists was helping load him in the truck he was transported here in, Sonic's mouth was oozing with the poison. The scientist accidentally touched it and now he's undergoing some… changes. _

_My point is; Sonic has to be in a deep, deep sleep in order for that venom in him to be inactive as well. The problem is this: We don't know how long he will be asleep. Something as different as this must be treated with extreme care, we know, but his system is different from regular animals. Anyways, think about it and give us __an answer when you feel comfortable.__**  
**_

_Signed,_

**Shadow and Rouge'**

I reread the letter to make sure I hadn't been day dreaming the whole thing.

'_So… Sonic could go into a coma…?' _I thought.

"What does it say, Tails?" Amy asked, wiping her tears away.

I stayed quiet for a moment before turning and smiling. "They're just saying that the antidote is almost done, and they just need a few more ingredients," I explained cheerfully, "Sonic'll be back to normal before you know it."

Amy gave a sigh a relief and Chuck nodded in approval.

They had bought it.

I turned and borrowed a pen from the scientist to sign my name and my answer to the letter on a piece of paper, and handed it to the scientist.

"Th-thank you; I will take this to Project Shadow immediately," The scientist stuttered and left the room. I nodded and turned back to my mutated brother.

"C-can… Can I have some alone time with him…?" I squeaked. Chuck and Amy nodded in understanding and left the room silently, shutting the door behind them.

I walked up to the glass containment and kneeled down on the side that wasn't covered in spit. Inside the glass, curled up into a ball of despair, was the most fierce, yet pitiful, looking creature I've ever seen. I placed my hand on the glass and tapped it tentatively. Sonic's head lazily lifted up, fur bristling, and he snarled at me before laying back down with his back turned to me.

I carefully walked to the other side of the glass cube, and I tapped the glass there as well. Sonic irritably opened his eyes and glared at me, giving off a warning growl. I got down on my knees and sat as still as I possibly could. The hedgehog stopped growling and tilted his head a bit at me in confusion. He hesitantly got up and took a careful step forward. Then another. And another.

I didn't dare move as to not startle the timid creature. The sheer size of my brother made it tempting to look up and take in all his qualities, but I still sat perfectly motionless. He sat down merely inches in front of the thick wall that separated us, wrapping his tail neatly around himself almost cat-like, and bent down so that he was nose to nose with me.

Sonic was a whopping seven feet long from his nose to the tip of his tail. His eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated to the size of a small rhombus.

For the first time I got to observe him more closely. Sonic's muzzle was stretched out almost wolf-like, the skin by his lips forming a slight bump where his over-sized teeth hung. They looked similar to that of a saber tooth tiger. His eyes were a golden yellow that seemed to almost shine even in the piercing light. Horns decorated his head from just in front of his ears to where the first few quills started to stick out of his head. Sonic's ears were larger and more curved and similar to the ears of a mobian bat.

His backside was morphed as well. I stared in awe at his leathery blue wings. They were dragon-like; decorated with only the finest and thickest skin. His tail was more than twenty times longer than its original length; being almost longer than the body it was attached to. It was muscular as well, and I took note to stay away from it as I realized it must be used for constricting prey.

Curious, and nervous that I might startle him, I slowly made a move to raise my hand. Sonic tensed. I carefully placed my hand on the glass, and after a moment of deathly silence, Sonic raised a giant paw and placed it on the opposite side of the glass. I concluded that his paw was almost two feet long in width. I slowly put my hand down, and so did Sonic.

I raised my other hand and brought my fingers to my thumb. The shape of my hand was similar to a mouth. I put my hand up to where Sonic's mouth was, and slowly opened my hand again. Sonic tilted his head. I repeated my movement again, this time opening my mouth in the same movement with my hand.

Sonic seemed to understand.

He almost opened his muzzle up, but stopped himself just as I caught a glimpse of his tongue. I opened my hand and mouth again slower, and Sonic kept pace with my mouth. Soon his jaws were as far as they could go, and even though it was open enough to give Sonic the message, my jaw dropped even more when I saw what Sonic was actually hiding under his muzzle.

His teeth were not aligned as a normal mammal's teeth at all. It represented more of a shark than anything. Sonic's mouth was penetrated by hundreds, maybe thousands, of different sizes of teeth. There were some smaller than a grain of rice, but there were some bigger than a good sized stone as well. In the midst of it all, though, sat a nice, fat, pointed tongue. It rolled out of his mouth, hanging over the bottom lip by about two inches.

On the roof of his mouth, however, behind the mass of teeth, I spotted two valves that were opening and closing simultaneously after almost every second. Drops of a yellowish-white substance were oozing from them before rolling down the sides of his mouth and back into his throat.

I closed my mouth and hand, and Sonic closed his oversized jaws once more.

Sonic truly _was_ a monster… For anyone that didn't know him, he would seem savage. My heart ached for the hedgehog, and I lowered my head to stare at his giant paws. I slowly got up, and walked away from the cube. I wanted to stay longer, but the G.U.N. soldiers would be coming for him soon. I took one last glance at my brother before walking out into the hallway, and what I saw broke my heart.

Sonic was lying down with his nose pressed up against the glass. His paws were over his face, and I couldn't see his expression, but what I could see was his back hitching up and down.

Sonic, the fiercest mutation ever to exist since Godzilla, was crying.

* * *

_(Sonic's P.O.V.)_

A few hours after that fox creature had left; I was found pacing circles around my glass cage. I was hungry and there was nothing but air to devour. Aggravated at the food deficiency, I snarled at nothing in particular.

I froze when I saw some humans suddenly walk through the door that my containment was in. Two of them were carrying a large cooler in between them, and they placed it just in front of my cage. A little treadmill that ran from outside of the glass wall to the other side of it suddenly appeared on the floor. The cooler's lid was popped open and a little slot opened in the glass wall. I didn't bother trying to escape; there was no way I'd fit through that. After the cooler was rolled into my cage, the slot immediately closed again.

I cautiously stepped up to the cooler, aware of the humans watching my every move. I looked inside the cooler to see…

'_Actual food…' _I thought.

I sniffed it skeptically, realizing it was actually a few hours old. I snorted in disgust, and gave a menacing growl at the humans. After a few seconds, hunger took over my actions, and I started gulping down the meat in swift bites. I stopped in mid-chew when I tasted something other than animal carcass in my mouth. I spit out the contents in my mouth onto the floor and nosed around in it until I found what I was looking for.

Pills.

Three yellow pills were embedded into the half-mush meat. Fearing I'd already eaten some meat with more of those things in it, I pulled out another strip of carcass from the cooler and tore into it, finding three more pills.

'_Oh, no…' _I thought.

I dug through every piece of meat, finding pills in every one of them. I had already eaten half of the contaminated food; what would it do to me…?

I whipped my head around to growl at the humans staring at me with round eyes. I could see them muttering something to each other, but I was unable to make it out through the soundproof glass. I snarled, aggravated that I couldn't even eat a meal without being tested or watched.

The scientists eventually left after seeing that I wasn't going to eat the food they had tried to give me. I was pacing again, finding that it was the only thing I could do at the moment.

* * *

After a while, my mouth started to feel sticky and dry.

'_So… they'll give me food but no water…?'_ I thought, grunting in irritation.

* * *

My head was throbbing and my nose was so stopped up I couldn't even breathe through it. My limbs were shaky and I kept coughing up goopy venom. It was supposed to be nice, clear and very thin; now my venom was a thick yellow and looked more like infected mucus than anything.

Then it hit me.

'_That's why they're keeping me dehydrated,'_ I thought, _'They don't want me to be able to use my venom anymore.'_ I would've reacted by snarling or snorting, but I just lay down on my side and tried resting to preserve my energy.

Just when I was about to doze off, I heard the '_swoosh'_ of the glass slot opening again. I lazily raised my head to see that the slot was tall and wide enough for a human to walk through, but still not quite big enough for me. To my alarm, a human actually had the gall to walk inside, holding something behind his back. I immediately rolled and sprang to my feet, but stumbled sideways from a wave of dizziness that hit me. I leaned against the glass wall, taking nervous breathes.

Through my hazy vision, I made out the figure of the human coming closer to me, and I tried my best to flare my quills. I attempted screeching, but got choked up and lowered my head to spit the mucus-like substance out of my throat. Trusting my judgment, I ran forward, and huffed in triumph when I rammed into something softer than glass.

I had hit the human.

"_Ahh!_" It yelled, as I pinned it to the glass wall with my rounded horns. However, I yelped in shock when something stung my shoulder blade. I released the human from my crushing grasp, and I started to feel light-headed. My pupils grew to cover most of my iris, and only a thin rim of gold was seen from afar. I felt so…so…

_Calm…_

I sat down on the ground, unable to hold all of my weight up at once. My head was unconsciously tilting sideways as I noticed a yellow figure come into view. At first I thought I should be scared, but that safe feeling entered me again, and I just drowsily looked down at the figure before me. It tentatively reached its hand up towards me, and it froze when I lay down on my stomach.

I couldn't process a thought.

I rested my head on my giant forepaws, my ears starting to grow lopsided. I tiredly looked up at the creature before me, whom had placed his hand on my forehead. He was tense. I could tell just from him touching me. Everything was growing fuzzy and soft. My eyes were heavy, but not from exhaustion. A nice, milky, warm drowsiness swept through me, and everything slowly blurred and faded black.

_(Tails' P.O.V.)_

When my brother's eyes finally closed, I couldn't help but get a lump in my throat from when he had looked up at me. His muzzle was very pale, and his eyes were glassy and hollow. Dried mucus crusted around his nose, and his breathing sounded ragged and difficult.

'_It's not fair!'_ I thought, _'He doesn't understand! He doesn't deserve this!' _

I stepped out of the way as six gun soldiers came and hauled Sonic onto a rather large gurney, and wheeled him off into a deeper part of the laboratory. Now all that was left to do was wait and inform the others of the news…

If I could muster up the courage to tell them…

* * *

"You… You what…? _You what?!" _Amy screeched, grabbing my chest fur and wrenching it closer to her. "What if they experiment on him?! Chaos _knows_ what those idiotic humans are capable of!"

"Um… We're right here, Amy…" Chris chirped nervously.

"_Shut up, Chris!_" Amy snapped, whirling on the young boy. Chris looked taken aback, his eyes widened and he raised his hands defensively in front of him.

"Amy, calm down…" Chuck told her.

We were in a separate room in G.U.N. headquarters. The place where Sonic was being treated was only a few doors down. Once Amy had seen Sonic being wheeled into the large room full of different machines and gadgets, she had immediately shot me a glare and pulled me into this closet-like room. Chuck and Chris had shortly followed.

"Don't tell me what to do, when _he's_ the one going behind our backs and handing Sonic over to those humans!" Amy burst, pointing to me.

"I only did it so they could find the cure! They're almost done with it; all they need is some of his venom, and a sample of his blood," I informed, backing away from the fuming hedgehog.

"You _know_ they're untrustworthy! G.U.N. are dirty scumbags that always do stupid things for their own foolish needs! Do you _really_ think they'd help us with something this big without asking for a reward?!"

"We gave them a chaos emerald!" I barked.

"Yeah, and I bet my hammer that they're going to ask for another one if this takes any longer!" Amy yelled.

"That might be true, but at least they're still getting the antidote!"

"And what are _you_ doing?! All you're doing is sitting around doing nothing!"

"_Speak for yourself!_" I burst, "_I'm_ the one that stayed by his side in the hospital! _I'm_ the one that stayed right beside him when he came home!" I was practically snarling now. "_And __**I'm**__ the one that's going to fix this whole blasted mess, because it was __**my fault**__ in the __**first place!**_"

Dead silence filled the small G.U.N. room. Even through the thick white fur, I was sure my muzzle was a deep red. Amy finally seemed to process my words, for her anger slowly bubbled down and a look of sympathy appeared on her face.

"Tails… It wasn't your fault… It wasn't anyone's but James' and don't you _dare_ think otherwise!" Amy scolded, tears forming in her eyes. "It was all _his_ fault! No one deserves a better pounding than him, and when Sonic gets better, I'm sure he'll think the same! For now, all we can do is encourage the scientists and hope nothing goes wrong-"

"Something's gone wrong! _Something's gone wrong!_" A scientist suddenly burst into the room, waving his arms madly and yelling hysterically.

"_What the-?!_" Amy was shoved out of the way as the scientist scrambled up to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, getting a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"It's Sonic… He- He's woken up…! We- we didn't know that the hypnotics were too weak for his system!" The scientist sputtered.

"Where is he now?!" I questioned.

"J-just a few hallways down! He's delirious, and our tranquillizers aren't having any effect on him!"

"Well, come on then!" I yelled, running out of the small room. The others followed. Already, I could see injured people running past us; some carrying others to safety. I saw no dead bodies, though. Just as the scientist had said, Sonic was fumbling down the hallway; slowly but surely. He kept making sounds similar to that of a confused dog when they tilted their head sideways.

"_Sonic!_" I yelled reflexively. The mutated hedgehog didn't seem to hear me, for he continued his journey to chaos knows where. I sprinted after him, noticing multiple tranquillizers stuck all over his body.

"_No more tranquillizers!_" I yelled a warning to the G.U.N. soldiers taking aim. "Too many will put him in a comatose! Wait a moment, and I'll take it from here!"

Hoping I could trust my own words, I threw myself in his path, tensed up and prepared to keep him from going any farther. However, all he did was look at me and plop down on his rump. I blinked in confusion, but studied him nonetheless. His pupils took over his iris almost completely, they were so big. His eyelids looked heavy, and his mouth hung open almost lazily.

He grunted at me, and dipped his head down to study me better. In the process, he lost his balance and stumbled forward. I jumped away just in time as his giant paws thundered in the place I had just been. I pressed myself against the wall near a G.U.N. soldier as Sonic fell on his nose and laid there. He whined, pressing his ears against his head, and I abruptly sped-walked in front of him again. I kneeled down a few inches from his over-sized muzzle, and I placed a hand on his forehead. Minding his horns, I started stroking his head soothingly while his breathing started to calm down.

He developed a sort of snorting sound as he tried breathing through his nose, and he growled in frustration. He adjusted himself out of his sprawled position across the floor, and he tucked his legs neatly underneath himself. Sonic surprised everyone when he laid his chin on the top of my knee. My eyes widened in both surprise and joy as I sat into a more comfortable position, stroking Sonic's large head all the while. Because of its size, Sonic's head hung off the side of my leg as he shifted into a sleeping position.

Sonic gave one last look at me, and what I saw made my heart soar. His eyes were cleared and sharp, and they were full of gratitude and kindness. For a heart-tugging moment I thought that maybe Sonic would miraculously change back into his normal form, but the joyful thought was quickly dismissed as his eyes clouded up again.

Recognizing me alone wouldn't do as much as actually change him back to a normal hedgehog again.

Sonic's golden eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head, and he fell completely limp. I carefully moved his huge head off of me, and gently placed it on the ground beside me. When I stood up, I was greeted by shocked faces all gaping at me.

"…What…?" I asked bashfully.

"You… You calmed him down as if it were nothing…! Tell me, how did you do it…?" One of the scientists asked, carefully walking up to me.

"He-he's my brother… I-I have a special connection with him, I guess… He's usually calm around me, and I've always comforted him when he needs it…" I explained. However, the scientist looked uninterested as he rolled his eyes, shook his head, and walked away.

After that, Sonic was ordered to be taken back into his glass containment until further notice.

* * *

"Fox." I snapped my head around when I heard my nickname from a certain someone.

"Shadow," I greeted, nodding to him.

"I have a report. The antidote… It's finished. We are doing the last procedures to make sure it's safe, and then tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. _sharp _we are going to inject it into him," Shadow explained.

I had almost stopped listening completely when he had said the word _'finished.'_

_ 'It's done… Sonic's going to be okay… He'll be back to normal… He'll be my brother again…' _I thought. I smiled practically from ear to ear. Letting my emotions take over, I lunged at Shadow and gave him a bear hug.

"_Thank you…_" I whispered.

Shadow, obviously not used to this kind of treatment, stuttered a _'you're welcome.' _

"Now release me before someone sees," He muttered. I laughed and let him go.

"Well, I have to go and tell the others! Goodbye, Shadow!" I called, already bolting toward G.U.N.'s nearest exit.

"Farewell."

* * *

I was fidgeting non-stop, and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. I impatiently looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

' _8:25…8:26… Aw, c'mon go faster!' _I thought.

"Tails…?" I looked over to see Amy.

"Hm?"

"I'm scared…"

"Why…? Sonic's going to be back! You should be happy!"

"I am! I really am super excited that he's finally going to be with us again! It's just…" She trailed off. "It's just; I'm scared of how he's going to react once he sees us… I keep thinking that maybe he'll be the same, brave hedgehog we know and love, but… What if… What if he's still broken…?"

"…He… He probably will be, Amy…" I finally answered.

"Wh-wha-?"

"He probably _will _be terrified once he realizes what's going on… But that's why we're here, Amy. We're his family… It's our job to support one another when we're down. Sonic's never, _ever, _given up on us, and now it's our turn to return the favor. I'll give him two months—tops—and I know he'll be back on his feet again. Just give him time." I put an assuring hand on her shoulder, and she smiled at me sincerely.

"You're right, Tails…As always…" She giggled.

"We are ready to begin."

Amy and I about jumped out of our fur when Shadow and Rouge suddenly appeared behind us.

"Geez, you two are quiet," Chris commented while smiling.

Ella, Cream, Cheese, Chris, Chuck, Knuckles and Tanaka were there as well, and were all prepared to have their speedy blue friend back.

"We're not called agents for nothing, honey," Rouge winked. Chris just laughed nervously. Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Let me repeat my statement: We are ready to begin," Shadow cut in, turning his attention to me.

"Right; you should get started," I tried stating calmly, but failed when my voice cracked in excitement.

We all watched as Shadow was handed a syringe with extra care, and walked into the glass container in which Sonic was still sleeping in. He injected the serum into the mutated hedgehog's neck and quickly exited.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation. We were waiting for something to happen. _Anything. _My heart was beating so hard I was sure everyone could hear it.

Sonic twitched.

I tensed.

Sonic's muscles started to spasm.

I was leaning forward, curling my toes and fisting up my hands.

'_It's finally happening… He's going to turn back to normal…' _I thought happily. However, I was soon snapped out of my head when everyone jumped.

Sonic was roaring and screeching in pain. He suddenly jumped up and threw himself to the right, slamming himself into the glass wall. Even through the supposedly sound-proof glass, his cries were heard clearly.

"Is this supposed to happen?" I yelled over the screeching.

Shadow gave a nonchalant shrug. "We didn't know what to expect," He raised his voice. "For all we know the process could take hours—days, maybe."

My eyes widened. _'Days…?'_

However, the thought was quickly dismissed as Sonic's giant wings started retracting and pressed close against his body. Miraculously, they seemed to dissolve into his skin. Sonic's tail scrunched up in pain, jerking this way and that. It shriveled up and started shrinking closer to the hedgehog's body. Sonic's ears folded against his head, and when he lifted them again, they resembled more of a hedgehog's ears than a bat's now.

Sonic roared in pain as his muzzle started forcing itself back into the face it was attached to. I saw that his tongue looked shorter and smaller, and the millions of teeth that decorated his mouth were disappearing. His sharp, saber-tooth-tiger-like fangs dulled and became short once again.

Sonic's horns slowly sucked themselves back into his head, causing the hedgehog to grasp his head in his shrinking paws. His hindquarters started straightening again, looking much more human-like than wolf-like. The claws that reached almost six inches long were wearing away, and pale, almost unnoticeable nails were their replacement.

When Sonic yelled out again in pain, and a hint of his old voice was heard. Sonic's entire body started shrinking in pulses, and soon enough, he was back to his normal size. Sonic's eyes opened, and I literally watched them flicker from gold, to yellow, to yellow-green, to a deep emerald green.

The last details started taking place.

Sonic's paws started dividing at the toes, and his fingers on his hands were seen; his toes were the same. His ears were triangular once again, and his tail was short and pointy. Quills started sprouting out of his back to make two sections of sharp defenses.

"_Argh…! Aahh!_" Sonic's voice was fully recognizable, and the sound-proof glass was proving dominant once again. I could see Sonic yelling out even more, but couldn't hear it.

My heart was soaring, and I was so happy that tears were coming close to falling. Amy was practically drowning in her own tears, as well as Ella, Cream and Cheese.

There was one moment of pause in the blue hedgehog, whom was on his knees. My heart dropped. Was something going wrong…?

"Wait…" Shadow said smoothly.

Sonic hacked and coughed up about a gallon of yellow vomit before collapsing on his side.

You could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet.

"He's finished," Shadow stated, breaking the silence.

I ran up to the glass and pressed my hands up against it, taking in every quality of my brother.

Nothing was out of place. No horns, no fangs, no wings; not even injuries were visible.

Sonic was completely healed.

* * *

_THE END!_

_***is pointed at with gun***_

_**I'm just kidding!We have a few more chapters to go! Had ya there, didn't I...? No...? Okay... **_

_**REVIEWS! I NEED DA REVIEWS!**_


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